MVP Police Reform Plan” , March 29, 2021

MALONE VILLAGE POLICE REFORM PLAN Village of Malone, New York

Village of Malone Police Reform Plan Page 1 of 30 TABLE OF CONTENTS I. Introduction...... 03

II. Public Engagement...... 05

III. Village of Malone Police Department (MVP) Overview…………………………………..07

IV. Reform Recommendations……………………………………………………………………15

V. Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………………..22

APPENDIX……………………………………………………………………………………………24 A- Village of Malone NY Demographics B- Deﬁned Boundaries of the Village of Malone C- Annual Crime Reports D- Use of Force Spreadsheet E- Deescalation Training Outline F- Diversity Training Outline

Village of Malone Police Reform Plan Page 2 of 30 ______I. INTRODUCTION

On June 12, 2020, Governor Cuomo issued Executive Order 203, requiring each local government with a police force in New York State to adopt a policing reform plan by April 1, 2021. The Order authorizes the Director of the Division of Budget to condition state aid on the adoption of such a plan. Executive Order 203 gave speciﬁc criteria and content for local government to consider and work collaboratively on with their community residents and stakeholders to establish a plan that works to build the mutual trust and partnership needed with both the police department and the community they serve.

To start this process Mayor Andrea Dumas, of the Village of Malone, formed a working committee (Malone Police Reform Committee), including stakeholders (examples identiﬁed in EO 203), to start the process of meeting the criteria of Executive Order 203 which are as follows;

1. Review of current local government, not State, policing policies; 2. subsequent or in coordination with the review, developed a plan to meet the goals of mitigating police- involved deaths and racially biased law enforcement. This plan development must be done with the involvement of multiple interested parties (listed below); 3. this plan is to be ratified by local government legislative body after such plan is offered to the public for comment; 4. the ratified plan must be submitted to the State Budget Director. The police policy review, the new plan development, and the ratification of such plan each have involvement from different entities.

This report identiﬁes the steps taken to meet the criteria set forth, recommendations and the conclusion of the committee regarding the Malone Village Police Department (MVP). This will be presented to the Village of Malone Trustee’s for adoption.

This committee has researched other Police Reform Plans in New York State to assist us in understanding boarder and more diverse topics and needs that are represented in this plan. In reviewing other plans we found best practices that we agreed upon and worked to incorporate into our recommendations.1

Village of Malone Police Reform Plan Page 3 of 30 The Village of Malone Police Reform Committee :

Andrea Dumas Todd Weber (retired) Mayor, Village of Malone Attorney

Christopher Premo Rev. Howard Cain Chief of Police, Village of Malone Paster, Ft. Covington Presbyterian Church & Constable United Methodist Church

Matthew Boyea Dean Yando (retired) Trustee, Village of Malone Principal

Norm Bonner Ashley Hart Trustee, Village of Malone Healthcare Professional

Brain Langdon Christopher Kelley Trustee, Village of Malone Teacher

Archie McKee Chris Hastings Trustee, Village of Malone Smart Recovery Representative & Mental Health Recovery, Homeless & ExCon Rebahka Scaccia Calvin Luther Martin, PhD (retired) Clerk, Village of Malone Professor

Collaborators/Stakeholders to the Malone Police Reform Committee :

Craig Carrieo Thomas Soucia District Attorney, Franklin County NY Public Defender, Franklin County NY

Suzanne Lavigne William Andre Director of Mental Health Services, Franklin County NY Sergeant, Village of Malone Police Department

Robert Fountain Lee Rivers Sergeant, Village of Malone Police Department Executive Director, Community Connections

Brooke Jennette Shannon Pritchard-Boya Teacher, Malone Central Schools Owner, Breathing Room

Michelle Schumaker Precious Cain Director, YMCA Past Resident of Malone, NY

Undisclosed Person Undisclosed Person MHL Patient LGBTQIA+ Community

Undisclosed Persons Arrested for Murder, Assault, Larceny, Robbery, Drug Possession Probation Violation

Village of Malone Police Reform Plan Page 4 of 30 ______II. PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT The Mayor initiated the call for community engagement through a front-page feature article, dated October 31, 2020, and through social media inviting community members to participate in the meeting and to submit comments by email, letter and in-person following COVID 19 social distancing guidelines. On September 22, 2020, Mayor Dumas created the Malone Police Reform Committee and started monthly meetings, with sub-meetings that took committee member to public housing to meet with residents and administrators, senior citizens, past arrestees including repeat offenders and those who had gone through recidivism, mental health and drug addiction programs, as well as anyone who reached out to give opinion and ideas. Many of these commenters asked for anonymity, either for personal reasons or to allow them to move forward in their recidivism programs without judgment and prejudice from the community.

From the initial call for collaboration and input with the community the committee received numerous emails and telephone calls. The outcome of these calls and emails is outlined below;

Generally, the Village of Malone Police Department received high merits for their performance and interaction with the residents and visitors of the Village. A signiﬁcant number of respondents indicated that they favored an expansion of outreach programs and mental health procedures and reforms. It should acknowledged that the call for input was to assist in detecting racial and ethnic bias against minorities in the community, but the response was minimal in comparison than larger towns and cities, this is due to the disproportion of population in the Village of Malone, as well as a possibly lack of trust with the police and village. Please see demographics in Appendix. While their was limited input, the number does not detract from the importance of the comments that we received and were taken very seriously.

- Calls for more inclusion - Calls for more mental health and addiction treatment services - General comments about respectful nature of most ofﬁcers - Calls for better understanding of systemic racism

A preliminary draft of a plan was released January 26, 2021 via the Village of Malone website. The community was provided with an opportunity to comment on the plan through March 21, 2021. The Village also hosted a meeting at the Village ofﬁces for in-person comment, as well as a Zoom link for live meeting participation. Several comments were received and documented. Comments prompted a complete overhaul to the Plan’s overall tone, information and details. On March 29, 2021, this plan moves into the Village Council adoption process which also involves community input. For a complete list of community engagement to date, please see outline below.

The committee continued public engagement through the monthly meetings as outlined below. September 22, 2020; 6:00PM Discuss the requirement and process of creating the report necessary to meet Executive Order 203. Presented a Planning Schedule Determined Stakeholders to recuit and interview

Village of Malone Police Reform Plan Page 5 of 30 October 2020 Open Forums Locations: 215 Elm Street Apartments 77 Catherine Street Apartments 59 Sawyer Avenue Apartments Valley Ridge Manor Senior Apartments

November 4, 2020; 4:30PM Noted Open Forum Locations that have occurred. Craig Carriero, DA added to the discussions adding the concept of a Diversion Program for those with substance abuse and/or mental health issues instead of arrests. Discussions included mental health gaps, handcufﬁng, non-lethal tools, new processes or training.

December 29, 2020; 4:30PM Discussed the BOLAWrap Discussed Community Relations through bike and foot patrol possibilities, restarting the DARE Program in schools, and increasing the number of Coffee with Cop events.

Village of Malone Police Reform Plan Page 6 of 30 ______III. MALONE VILLAGE POLICE DEPARTMENT OVERVIEW

The MVP serves over 5,610 village residents and thousands of others that pass through the Village of Malone on an average day for work, shopping, doing business and attending special events. Pre-COVID 19 the thousands of others also included numerous Canadians due to the close proximity of the Canadian Border. The MVP police ofﬁcers patrol a total geographical area is approximately 3.18 square miles located in the Franklin County, NY.

The MVP was ofﬁcially founded in 1926 and has a close relationship with other area law enforcement that covers Franklin County, NY including the NY State Troopers, Border Patrol, and the Franklin County Sheriff’s Ofﬁce. The stated mission of the MVP is “to provide professional police service in an ethical, courteous, and impartial manner to those that live, work and visit in the Village of Malone. We do this through the guiding principles of community policing and the value of the sanctity of life. “

1. MVP Organization The MVP staff currently includes 13 sworn positions, 3 (Part-time) Dispatchers and 1 K-9 (the dog), divided into three areas of responsibility, including the Chief of Police, the Sworn Ofﬁcers (including the K-9 Unit) and Dispatch.

a. Chief of Police The Chief of Police is responsible for planning, budgeting, stafﬁng, directing, coordinating and controlling all department operations and functions. The Chief and his senior ofﬁcers are responsible for maintaining positive morale and discipline within and without the department, as well as ensuring General Orders are followed and changes and updates required to the General Orders are completed.

• Acts as Professional Standards Oversight • Acts as Community Service Liaison • Acts as Information Ofﬁcer • Acts as Village Municipal Liaison • Acts as Recruitment Ofﬁcer

b. Sworn Officers The Sworn Officers are responsible for providing direct police services to the public, including the protection of life and property, protection of the constitutional guarantees of all people, reduction of opportunities for the commission of crime, resolution of conflict, identification of criminal offenders and criminal activity, and apprehension of offenders. The Sworn Officers consists of the Sergeants & Patrol Division and is responsible for providing general policing services throughout the Village of Malone.

c. Dispatch The MVP retains three part-time dispatchers with coverage 7 days a week, from 5am - 5pm. All off hours dispatch is through the Franklin County Emergency Services Dispatch Center.

2. Physical Location of Police Facility The current address to the Village of Malone Police Department is located at 2 Police Plaza, Malone, NY 12953. The police department is centrally located and close to the main thoroughfare through the village to ensure residents and visitor visibility.

Village of Malone Police Reform Plan Page 7 of 30 3. Staffing levels compared to other villages The MVP is similar in it's staffing level to other villages in NYS. Due to budget restrictions we are short two detective positions that would be consider as part of a standard level of staffing. The loss of these positions creates more work on Patrolman.

B. MVP Budget Summary The MVP operating budget for Fiscal Year 20/21 is $1,014,953. The Village budget also includes $207,683.04 in “Undistributed Funds” for MVP employee beneﬁts. $4000- $20,000 is spent annually on training depending on new hires and new programs. Funds for additional training are typically sourced from Drug Assets Forfeiture Monies when available.

B. The Role of the VOMD in the Village of Malone Today 1. Summary of Crime Trends The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) program is the most comprehensive collection of law enforcement crime data in the United States. The Village of Malone Police Department (MVP) collects crime data in accordance with UCR standards and submits to the program through the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services. The UCR program divides crime into two primary categories, Part I and Part II, with Part I representing the most serious crimes. Part I crime is subsequently broken down by offense type into Violent Crime (Murder, Rape, Robbery, and Aggravated Assault) and Property Crime (Burglary, Larceny, and Motor Vehicle Theft). 2

The MVP reported to the committee that since the new bail reform statues, they have seen an increase in felonies as well as increased crime in burglaries (up 233%). This is a trend that has been seen state-wide. Part of this was contributed to changes in parole violations and leniency due to COVID 19. Along with this uptick, there has been a decrease (31% from 2019 to 2020) in Uniform Trafﬁc Tickets since a majority of people were in quarantined. Children were out of school remote learning at home and sports events were canceled.

In 2020, the MVP made a total of 894 charges. Of the 893 charges; 840 charges (237 arrests) (94%) were Caucasian, 35 charges (22 arrests) (4%) were African Americans, 17 charges (14 arrests) (1.9%) were Native American, and 2 charges (2 arrests) (less than .01%) were Asian charges.

Please see appendix for Annual Crime Reports and Use of Force Spreadsheet.

2. Summary Calls for Service Trends Local calls for service are entered in the SJS system which is maintained by DCJS. The Malone Village Police’s call for service data is stored on a private server owned by the Village of Malone. Calls to service are grouped via the SJS systems reporting methods.

SJS’s categories are used as data indicators by the Police Chief and offer the Police Department statistical information. This information contributes in determining the need for changes in the organization. Please see the Crime Statistics Reports found in the appendix.

3. MVP Community Policing & Presence “Community policing focuses on a proactive, rather than reactive, response to neighborhood crime by addressing problems at their source. Typically ofﬁcers will patrol the same neighborhoods every day, allowing them to really understand a section of the community. They engage with residents face to face, which leads to

Village of Malone Police Reform Plan Page 8 of 30 trusting relationships. Once this trust is established, citizens feel more comfortable working with the police to keep their community safe. These partnerships make it possible to address public safety issues such as crime, social disorder and fear of crime from inside out instead of outside in.” 3

“Community policing is not measured by the “number” of meetings or number of “community contacts.” Community policing is a philosophical approach that connects the police to how the community thinks, feels and talks about them. The programs listed above, when properly led, allows for “frequency of interaction with the police and community” and the byproduct is that trust is built. This information represents the current practices and there is a need to streamline the current programs, determine their purpose, and retool efforts to meet community policing goals.” 3

The MVP demonstrated they work to ensure that they are engaged with community members, Patrol Ofﬁcers are visible in the community and interact through events such as delivery of food donations and goods needed through out the COVD pandemic.

C. Inventory and Assessment of MVP Law Enforcement Practices and Strategies

1. Response to Mental Health Calls If, it is deciphered through the person making a service call that this event is concerning a mental health issue the police work to make quick connections with Crisis Services to work to deescalate the situation and transport the identiﬁed person to services when possible.

It was noted by the Police Department that the initial dispatch triage is not always accurate due to who is placing the 911 service call. If it is not a known mental health provider, then the service call is triaged without pertinent information. Ofﬁcers currently proceed with caution on all service calls and work to deescalate the situation, as well as quickly assess any possible mental health or medical assistance required.

This was found to be at a deﬁcit by the Police Department and the committee, with potential for new programs and training.

2. Crowd control The Village of Malone’s operational standard is to reach out to the NY State Police Department for assistance.

3. Police in Schools Currently, there are special patrol officers that work in the schools, but are paid through the Malone Village Police. These officers are required to meet the departments guidelines and follow all general orders. All officers must also follow protocol set forth by the Malone Central School District.

4. National Practices and Strategies that may pose an undue risk of harm to the public 4

a. Broken Window Strategy The MVP does not perform this type of operational practice since March 2011.

b. Stop & Frisk The MVP does not perform this type of operational practice.

Village of Malone Police Reform Plan Page 9 of 30 c. Chokeholds and Other Restrictions on Breathing The MVP does not perform this type of operational practice. This is further explained and deﬁned in our Use of Force Policy.

d. Use of Force According to the MVP, ofﬁcers are trained to only use appropriate force.

e. Pretextual Stops The MVP does not perform this type of operational practice.

f. Informal Quotas for Summonses, Tickets or Arrests The MVP does not engage in operational practices that encourage or mandate informal quotas for summonses, tickets, or arrest.

g. Shooting at Moving Vehicles The discharge of a firearm from or at a moving vehicle is prohibited unless the officer reasonably believes that the occupant(s) of the vehicle are using or are about to use deadly physical force against the officer or another person.

h. High Speed Pursuits High speed pursuits are only practiced in extreme circumstances clearly deﬁned in the policy and procedures.

i. Use of SWAT Teams The MVP does not perform this type of operational practice and does not have any special situations team outside of the K-9 Unit.

j. No-Knock Warrants The MVP does not perform this type of operational practice since 2019, and has changed the policy ofﬁcially, 2021.

k. Less-Than-Lethal Weaponry such as Tasers and Pepper Spray The use of less-than-lethal weaponry is restricted by MVP policy and, accordingly, is only to be used as a means of force in non-deadly use of force situations. These tools are intended to provide an officer with a less lethal alternative to safely take a violent or dangerous person(s) into custody by allowing officers to deploy these tools from an extended range. Only those officers that have successfully completed an annual training course and have demonstrated proficiency in the use of less-than-lethal weaponry is authorized to deploy them. The “less-than-lethal” weaponry currently used by the MVP includes: batons, tasers (“conducted electrical weapons”), bean bag rounds (“kinetic energy impact projectiles” or “KEIP” shot via “less lethal force shotguns”), pepper spray (“OC spray”), and tear gas (“CS gas”).4

The MVP does use of the BolaWrap, The BolaWrap is identiﬁed as similar to "remote handcuffs", BolaWrap safely & humanely restrains resisting subjects from a distance without relying on pain compliance tools.

Village of Malone Police Reform Plan Page 10 of 30 l. Facial Recognition Technology The MVP does not have this type of technology.

m. “Stingrays” or Similar Technology The MVP does not have this type of technology.

5. Principals & Strategies that are Recognized as Reducing Racial Disparities and Building Trust In 1994 the NYC Police Depart in the South Bronx introduced new strategies and practices that were researched by the Vera Institute of Justice. From this research a “best strategies” study for reducing racial disparities and building trust was published. The study shows that large reductions in crime can be achieved while practicing respectful policing.

The publication “Reducing Racial Disparity in the Criminal Justice System; A Manual for Practitioners and Policymakers”, by the Sentencing Project outlines what they consider the “best strategies” at the law enforcement relations level, to reduce racial disparity. This publication further explains best strategies at various levels of community involvement. Here are their recommendations below:

“Research and Assessment of Disparity Undertake a research process similar to that described in the previous section which focuses more comprehensively on law enforcement practices. To determine if members of minority groups are disproportionately represented at key police decision points, study race differences at as many decision points as possible, such as police encounters with the public (i.e., trafﬁc and pedestrian stops and searches.)

Development and Use of Arrest Alternatives • Research the opportunities available for citizens who are at risk of arrest but for whom arrest is not appropriate. This will help to ensure that arrest alternatives are available in all neighborhoods, especially minority neighborhoods. • Advocate for expansion of alternatives to arrest in instances where arrest is inappropriate but often used, such as status offenses for juveniles, or encounters with mentally ill or homeless persons. • Encourage community- and faith-based organizations, especially in minority communities, to develop programs that may be used by police ofﬁcers and supervisors as alternatives to arrest in cases where police have discretion. Develop guidelines to help the ofﬁcers use these arrest alternatives fairly. • Engage members of the community in the development of problem-solving responses to local crime problems, particularly in regard to drug use and selling.

Implementation of MultiCultural Competency as Core Component in Operations and Training • Adopt culturally-specific orientation training for police personnel working in areas with substantial numbers of minority group members. The training should introduce the police to the residents, organizations, and cultural characteristics of the neighborhoods, to enhance their understanding of the community culture. • Develop early warning systems to identify officers for whom excessive complaints regarding misconduct have been filed and initiate remedial action when necessary. • Focus the attention of police chiefs, supervisors and managers on the importance of racially equitable police practices. • Use the departmental database to monitor activity by race and be alert to patterns of disparate treatment by street officers. If and when patterns emerge, ensure that a process is in place to investigate the reasons and

Village of Malone Police Reform Plan Page 11 of 30 take necessary action quickly. Make certain that acts of racially disparate treatment are prohibited by and responded to within the department’s disciplinary system. • Ensure that persons promoted into supervisory and managerial positions are culturally competent and educated about issues related to race and race relations. • Expand the number of minority group members within the police agency so that the agency’s demographic proﬁle is similar to the population. • Work with members of the community to launch public education campaigns on the topic of race relations and cultural competence. Public education campaigns should describe what the police department is doing to ease racial tensions. • Advocate for additional funds to be used for initiatives related to racial fairness and sensitivity, and to ensure legislative support for these goals and objectives.

Development of Community Policing Approaches • Adopt principles of policing that comport with the community policing perspective. • Create structures and processes, especially in high crime neighborhoods, that encourage the participation of community leaders and residents in deﬁning the major concerns of the community and in designing and implementing problem-solving strategies to address them. • Use neighborhood structures and public forums to anticipate racially and ethnically disparate impacts from proposed problem-solving strategies and tactics. •Initiate public forums on the topic of race that encourage candid discussion. These can serve to sensitize the community and police to cultural and racial conﬂicts present in the area. From the law enforcement agency perspective, design a human relations approach by using police advisory boards to open lines of communication with the community. The community should also have the opportunity to assess law enforcement strategies and provide feedback.

Discussions Cultural acclimatization can strengthen positive bonds between the police and the community. In each community where minorities are prominently represented, cultural familiarity programs that allow for open, candid discussions can be constructed for all police personnel. These should be designed and implemented with representatives of the community to accomplish the following: • Introduce officers to familiar local faces; • Orient officers to the language, culture and traditions of the community; • Introduce officers to representatives of community based organizations; • Identify the problems of greatest concern to the community; • Learn about police tactics that are considered unnecessarily intrusive; • Explain styles of language, composure, and interactions that are culturally specific and might be construed as disrespectful in the absence of knowledge about them.” 5

Publication can be found here: https://www.sentencingproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Reducing-Racial-Disparity-in-the-Criminal- Justice-System-A-Manual-for-Practitioners-and-Policymakers.pdf

Research paper By Vera Institute of Justice can be found here: https://www.vera.org/downloads/Publications/respectful-and-effective-policing-two-examples-in-the-south- bronx/legacy_downloads/respectful_policing.pdf

Village of Malone Police Reform Plan Page 12 of 30 6. Practices and strategies for effectively responding to hate crimes Our understanding of hate crimes and best strategies comes directly from the publication “Responding to Hate Crimes: A Police Ofﬁcer’s Guide to Investigation and Prevention” by the International Association of Police Chiefs.

Publication link here: https://www.theiacp.org/resources/responding-to-hate-crimes-a-police-ofﬁcers-guide-to-investigation-and- prevention

“A hate crime is a criminal offense committed against persons, property or society that is motivated, in whole or in part, by an offender's bias against an individual's or a group's race, religion, ethnic/national origin, gender, age, disability or sexual orientation. (Definition developed at the 1998 IACP Summit on Hate Crime in America.)Legal definitions of hate crimes vary. The federal definition of hate crimes addresses civil rights violations under 18 U.S.C. Section 245.

Hate crimes are unique. Victims of hate crimes are targeted because of a core characteristic of their identity. These attributes cannot be changed. Victims often feel degraded, frightened, vulnerable and suspicious. This may be one of the most traumatic experiences of their lives. Community members who share with victims the characteristics that made them targets of hate (race, religion, ethnic/national origin, gender, age, disability or sexual orientation) may also feel vulnerable, fearful and powerless. In this emotional atmosphere, law enforcement ofﬁcers and investigators must attend carefully to the ways they interact and communicate with victims, their families and members of the community.”5

It was found through this plans’ process that MVP does not have a speciﬁc action plan for hate crimes, nor policies relating to how to treat a hate crime in the Village of Malone. It is the recommendation of this committee that the MVP work with a future committee to create a policy on best practices to respond to hate crimes. Also, it is recommended that the committee create a task force to work collaboratively with local stakeholders to develop programming to assist and support victims and the community after a hate crime has occurred; further this task force will develop outreach programming to engaging the community in hate crime prevention.

D. Implementation of “Procedural Justice” in MVP Functions Procedural justice refers to the idea of fairness in the processes that resolve disputes and allocate resources. The concept when embraced, promotes positive organizational change and develops stronger and more meaningful relationships. Procedural justice validates the concept that how we treat people and how we talk to them does matter.

It is acknowledged throughout MVP and the community that further adoption and implementation of the tenets of Procedural Justice would beneﬁt the MVP culture and training programs.

E. Community Engagement Techniques/Strategies as Applied to MVP

1. Community Organizations, Advisory Boards, & Committees There are numerous ways in which the MVP interacts with community groups. Through a partnership with the Village, MVP routinely attends community meetings and events.

Village of Malone Police Reform Plan Page 13 of 30 2. Attention to Marginalized Communities Marginalized communities include people with limited English proﬁciency, people with communication disabilities, Native Americans, Minorities, Homeless, people living near or below the federal poverty level, the LGBTQIA+ community, and immigrant communities. The MVP liaisons with the Border Patrol to assist community members who have limited communication abilities due to having multi-lingual and special languages Agents available and close by. The MVP is working to identify additional service providers to assist in communication issues.

3. Officer training programs that reflect community values and build trust The MVP is continuously striving to better serve the community through progressive programs, training, and community engagement. Officers work side by side with community groups to identify training needs and possible deficiencies. The MVP added Diversity and Deescalation Training to the training roster in 2019. Please see outline of both training requirements in the Appendix.

Village of Malone Police Reform Plan Page 14 of 30 ______IV. Reform Recommendations

A. Accountability* 1. Ensure that the MVP “After Action Reviews,” which is completed when there is a major event (e.g., serious injury, in-custody death) are being effectively used. This review process documents what happened, how it happened, who needs to be notiﬁed, and what changes might be needed in policy/practice.

2. “Advocate for NYS to institute a statewide police officer licensing or decertification program to ensure disciplined officers’ records are known by potential future employers.”4

3. “Police-community Reconciliation - A process that seeks to improve strained relationships between police and all minorities, the MVP works to repair strained relationships between ofﬁcers and community members. Both parties agree to participate at a neutral location for the purposes of a structured discussion to mediate issues.”4

B. Community Engagement and Programming 1. Advocate for more resources and ﬁnancial support for programs such as Mental Health Programs, Youth & Recreation Programs, Job Development, Pathways to Peace, Conﬂict Resolution Programs, and other evidence-based programs that include oversight, evaluation, transparency, and training so that programs that are effective can be expanded and improved.

Community Outreach 1. Expand Current Events Build off current community centered events such as Coffee with a Cop, Bike Registration, Tours of the Police Department with Boy & Girl Scouts, Special Olympics.

2. Kids Camp Create and implement a day long kids camp for 5th Grade. Allow the day to offer some education on how to reach out for help regarding drugs, bullying, and home life. Spend time playing as a team together in kick ball, baseball, or basketball. Connect with the children though music and conversation. Invite other agencies to participate; i.e. Fire Department, EMS, Crisis Services.

3. Police Town Halls Hold opportunities for people to speak out about issues. Pick one main issue to address for each town hall to allow for citizen and stakeholder input, feedback and criticism. Create After Action Plan that demonstrates you listened and how you will move forward. Share the plans on social media and with the newspaper. Create a section on the Village of Malone website to house these plans publicly.

4. Social Media Interactions Showcase positive involvement in the community. Share safety tips and education on safety, how to handle a situation, reminders of who people can reach out to for help. Provide positive policing through problem solving and education.

Village of Malone Police Reform Plan Page 15 of 30 5. Create Annual Citizen Award Program Create a reward/recognition system for consistent and creative use of de-escalation strategies, community involvement and outreach to stakeholders by MVP Ofﬁcers.

6. Citizen Complaint Form & Annual Disclosure This form can be anonymous, and will be available online via the Village website and social media platforms. Publicly disclose aggregate information about complaints on a periodic basis (e.g., annual). To the extent permissible, publicly disclose information about resolution of speciﬁc complaints alleging serious misconduct.

7. Form a Community Oversight Committee to Advise and Make Recommendations Regarding Community/ police interactions. It should function as a liaison to the community regarding community policing.

8. Explore the Formation of a DEIA (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Antiracism) Committee with the help of ADI (Adirondack Diversity Group) to hold monthly meetings.

C. Data, Technology and Transparency 1. Recognize the importance of using data to: • inform leadership and the community of crime trends and causal factors; • drive strategies to prevent crime, address crimes in progress, and to develop a response to trends and patterns; • ensure equity in the application of public safety; • identify training needs and programming; • properly assess and evaluate operational responses, organizational changes, technology use and implementation and ofﬁcer wellness. Make budgetary decisions about the organization. • Use empirical data to support the selection of new training programs

F. Response to Mental Health Calls7 1. Mental Health Understanding & Deescalation Training Following a presentation (9/22/20) by Suzanne Lavigne, Director of Community Services for the county, the committee recommends that the MVP participate, as appropriate, in the following mental health training sessions:

SAMHSA Sequential Intercept Model Mapping Exercise (SIM) a) SIM workshops are available through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration’s GAINS Center for Behavioral Health and Justice Transformation. The Center is managed by Policy Research Associates Inc. The GAINS acronym stands for Gather, Assess Integrate, Network and Stimulate. b) Franklin County Community Services and the District Attorney will sponsor a series of workshops designed to assist jurisdictions to better understand how individuals with behavioral health conditions and intellectual/developmental disabilities come in contact with the criminal justice system. i. Gaps in support and services will be identiﬁed in the workshop series. ii. The workshops result in a “systems map,” which allows for the identiﬁcation of “priorities for change” and the creation of a strategic plan. The strategic plan will identify strategies and opportunities for improvement. iii. Law enforcement, key stakeholders, and agency representatives will be invited to attend. The goal is to have representation from every jurisdiction and stakeholder group in the county.

Village of Malone Police Reform Plan Page 16 of 30 iv. The training will be offered in early 2021 and will be conducted through a virtual platform

SIMS training was provided on March 19th & 23rd, 2021. Chief Premo attended both sessions and will serve on the Leadership Committee to follow through on all recommendations.

2. OMH Crisis Intervention Team Training for Law Enforcement (CIT) a) The Institute for Police, Mental Health and Community Collaboration is managed by Coordinated Care Services (CCSI). The Institute was developed to create the Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) programs across NYS. The Ofﬁce of Mental Health is a key partner in the curriculum. b) The training provides education, develops skills and de-escalation strategies for law enforcement to be used in their response to behavioral health crisis. c) CIT Training will be offered following Sequential Intercept Model Mapping and will be conducted through a virtual platform.

3. Non-Violent Therapeutic Crisis Intervention Training a) Franklin County Community Services will be sponsoring this through its work with the Franklin County System of Care Initiative. The training is offered by certiﬁed facilitators through Cornell University. b) The training provides participants with de-escalation strategies and the skills necessary to manage crisis situations without the use of physical restraint. c) Once the initial training is completed, some participants will have the opportunity to participate in a train- the-trainer curriculum. Candidates will be vetted according to recommendations by the facilitator and their employer. Candidates will be required to offer the training and related activities to their agency’s workforce upon successful completion of the course.

4. Franklin County Community Services/Law Enforcement Collaboration & Consultation a) The Director of Community Services, Suzanne Lavigne, is available for consultation with the Police Committee and MVP. b) Speciﬁc strategies will be developed based on the needs of each jurisdiction. c) Initiatives currently underway include: i. Collaboration with behavioral health providers. ii. Increased law enforcement access to mobile crisis teams and licensed mental health professionals. Mobile crisis teams are available in the Malone and Saranac Lake areas. iii. Increased law enforcement access to the substance use disorder open access center (OAC) based in Saranac Lake. The center provides evaluation and referral services to individuals and families and peer recovery support services.

5. Foster Closer Collaboration with Human Service Providers & Citizen Advocates & St. Joesph’s Mental Health Support The committee urges the MVP to develop a close working relationship with St. Joseph’s and Citizen Advocates’ Crisis Center (in the old Alice Hyde nursing home) and avail itself, as much as possible, of CA’s Crisis Mobile Crisis Team, and St. Joseph’s Open Access Center (OAC).. Further, the MVP will gather more resources and create new collaborative relationships with stakeholders and service partners to offer a more seamless response to citizens with disabilities, non-verbal communications and special needs. Reccomendedations to reach out to; Dr. Goodrow, Randall Gay, Reggie MacDonald and NECC to name a few.

6. Provide additional training to 911 dispatchers to get better information and assess the response needed

Village of Malone Police Reform Plan Page 17 of 30 for mental health calls.

7. Create a Mental Health Response Unit, for call out response for mental health service calls.

8. Create an Exploratory Diversion Program Task Force with the District Attorney’s Ofﬁce. Work to advocate the use of drug courts and additional remedies modeling after programs such as CAHOOTS, Eugene, OR; Angel Program, Gloucester, MA; REACH Program, Orange County, CA as alternatives to incarceration, beneﬁt individuals and the community at large. 8

I. Recruitment 1. Ensure that job vacancy announcements are publicized in outside areas/regions that would incentivize people of all backgrounds to apply.

2. Create a local training requirement list in policies that builds from State requirements, for higher training standards in diversity and deescalation. Add requirement of up-to-date Mental Health First Aid Certiﬁcate and two (2) recommendations from citizens in the community in which they transfer or are moving from. Mandate that this training be continued through required routine in-service courses. Advocate for funding for this additional mandated training.

3. “Recommend to the State that they evaluate and update the practice of allowing only the top 3 candidates from the civil service list be hired. Increase numbers of underrepresented groups, including female and BIPOC ofﬁcers so that the workforce demographic should more closely represent the community.”4

4. “Advocate NYS law to require DCJS to mandate explicit and implicit biases, systemic racism, cultural competency, and procedural justice training in the Basic Course for their Police Ofﬁcer certiﬁcation program.”4

G. Officer Wellness Officer Mental Health Awareness & Mental Health First Aid Certificates 1. Create a Mindful Policing Program9 “Explore and integrate a program for providing mindfulness-based de-escalation, anti-racism, wellness, and resiliency training. There is a growing focus on what is commonly referred to as Mindful Policing in recent years. Studies show the following benefits, and they show that continued practice is needed to sustain these benefits.”7 A study that was performed in Buffalo, NY would be a study to pull more information from • “Significant increases in resilience, mental health and emotional intelligence; • Significant decreases in sleep disturbances, anger, fatigue, burnout and general stress; • Reduction in the levels of the stress hormone cortisol; • Officers reported less difficulty with emotional regulation, organizational and operational stress; • Officers reported a better understanding of behavioral patterns in persons to help deescalate a situation; • Increases the opportunity for more services to be tapped and community appreciation of an Officer • Decreases cultural gap and misunderstandings through practices that are universal and productive.”7

Village of Malone Police Reform Plan Page 18 of 30 Articles of Interest: Eddy, A., Bergman, A.L., Kaplan, J. et al. A Qualitative Investigation of the Experience of Mindfulness Training Among Police Ofﬁcers. J Police Crime Psych 36, 63–71 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11896-019-09340-7

https://www.mindful.org/mindful-policing-the-future-of-force/

https://www.policechiefmagazine.org/mindful-policing-ofﬁcer-wellness-training/

2. Creates a Mental Health & Addiction Training Program for MVP, 911, & EMS Design and implement a training program that assist ofﬁcers in understanding behavioral patterns that can offer insight into unknown and known situations where mental health and addiction issues may be present. This training would speciﬁcally focus on; • Behavioral Patterns and possible relationship to mental health issues; • How to better deescalate a situation based on certain behavioral patterns; • What resources are currently available for you assistance.

F. Police Policy, Strategies, and Practices 1. Based on data collected, assess whether low-level offenses are being disproportionately applied in the Village of Malone. If they are, then create policies and strategies to cease this activity and create disciplinary rules, policies, and practices that ensure the MVD’s low-level enforcement patterns and priorities are equitable.

2. Periodically survey the public to shed light on if they feel the police proﬁle all minority people for minor violations.

3. Mandate the completion of incident reports that include demographic data to better track stops made by the MVP.

4. Integrate the “Duty to Intervene” into MVP’s restructured use of force policy. In addition implement policies to protect from retaliation any members who acts to prevent excessive uses of force or other misconduct. Add speciﬁc language that requires ofﬁcers to attempt to de-escalate their encounters with members of the public.

6. Currently MVP Policy prohibits officers from firing at moving vehicles except under extreme circumstances. MVP should add to the policy that Officers should avoid positioning themselves in the path of a moving vehicle where they have no option but to use deadly force.

7. MVP and the Village of Malone are to review the Department’s policies and practices related to Less-Than- Lethal Weapons. While these weapons/tools are intended as a way to avoid the use of deadly force, they can be subject to abuse. MVP and the Village of Malone will continue to work closely to consider and implement changes to policy, practice, and trainings regarding these weapons/tools, as needed only.

The new policies and strategies for the use of Less-Than-Lethal Weapons include: 4 a. Mandating that less-than-lethal weapons only be used as a second resort once other alternatives have been reasonably exhausted and multiple warnings given. b. Ban the use of chemical weapons, like tear gas, for peaceful crowd control, and restricting their use to the case of riots and violent demonstrations and only when a command-level

Village of Malone Police Reform Plan Page 19 of 30 decision has been made to deploy them. c. Ban the use of irritants when a person is restrained (including a person restrained by a “spit sock”) unless exceptional circumstances are present that pose an immediate threat of death or seriously bodily harm to the person or others and no reasonable alternative is available. d. Clearly restricting use of less-than-lethal weapons that are not banned, in order to prevent disproportionate use of force, including a ban on shooting civilians in the face, neck, or spine with a bean bag round or other projectile unless deadly force is justiﬁed. e. Provide updated training to all sworn ofﬁcers on these policy changes, the use of less than lethal weapons, and alternatives.

8. While MVP has minimal calls to service regarding crowd control situations, and has stated that their policy is to call the NY State Troopers for assistance in these situations, the MVP maintains they will use the mindset of a “Servant/Protector” verses a “Warrior” stance at all times in crowd control situations. MVP’s focus is always based on the premises safety and protection of people ﬁrst, property second, whenever possible.

9. Improve the Body-worn Cameras (BWC) Program.4 a. Update a Body-worn Camera Manual b. Add a list of examples of the types of law enforcement activities that officers are expected to record under the existing BWC policy. The BWC Manual’s standard recording policy requires officers assigned a BWC to “record all activities, and contact with persons, in the course of performing police duties.” This includes recording, “all calls for service and self-initiated police activity.” c. Expand the mandatory recording activities to explicitly require BWC use for (1) the execution of search and arrest warrants, and during (2) protest, crowd control, and demonstration-related operations. d. Develop clear rules and training regarding the application of BWC usage for search warrant execution involving undercover operations. e.Create a procedure which requires officers to provide and record either a verbal or written justification to their supervisors when there is a (1) failure to activate the BWC to capture a mandatory or standard recording activity or (2) a premature deactivation of a BWC prior to the conclusion of a mandatory or standard recording event. f. Add specific procedures in the BWC Manual that describe how an officer may be disciplined for failing to comply with the BWC policies. BWC Manual does not currently address the repercussions for officers who fail to use their BWCs in accordance with Department policy. g. Provide a clear definition for the “safe and practical” exception to BWC recording requirements. h.Institute a zero tolerance policy for officers who fail to turn on their body worn cameras when it is safe and practical; that policy should be accompanied by strict penalties, which may include dismissal. i. Update Departmental policies regarding the release of complete BWC footage, in compliance with Freedom of Information Law. j. Update Departmental policies regarding storage of body worn camera footage and public release of that footage. k. Supervisory review of BWC footage will be required to audit and track use of BWC. l. Look into updated technologies available for a clearer image and 360 views. Update and upgrade when fiscally possible. m.Look into automatic body camera activation.

Village of Malone Police Reform Plan Page 20 of 30 11. Review MVP General Orders for modiﬁcations necessary to take into consideration service to children and people with special needs. Create a list of service partners that sworn ofﬁcers can quickly utilize in situations that merit assistance.

12. Prioritize spending and training hours on use of force and de-escalation in such settings, which are generally the most effective for adult learning, as opposed to purely classroom learning.

K. Training 1. Take Advantage of Available Outside Funding for Any and All Training. The ADI has offered use of grant writers to assist in this process.

2. Focused Training on Humanity and the Sanctity of Life. Focusing on “Sanctity of Life”10 as a guiding principle4 is an example of a values-based approach to Use of Force which includes the following points: • Respect human rights. • Officers should not engage in unreasonable actions that precipitate the use of force as result of tactical, strategic, and procedural errors. • Individuals are entitled to Constitutional Rights free from excessive force. •It recognizes that split-seconds judgements are made. • Reasonableness inquiry in excessive force situations is objective. When reasonable, officers should use advisements, warnings, verbal persuasion and other tactics including withdrawing. • It is important for officers to bear in mind that many reasons exist that individuals may resist arrest: • The person may not be capable of understanding the gravity of the situation. • An individual’s reasoning ability may be dramatically affected by several factors, i.e. medical condition, mental impairment, developmental disability, language barrier, drugs interdiction and emotional crisis.

3. Continue to Invest in available cultural diversity training to include implicit and explicit bias training, procedural justice training, systemic racism, cultural competency, and Village of Malone history training that includes cultural diversity, redlining and neighborhood development instruction during a recruit’s post academy as well as in-service for all staff.

4. Provide training on the handling of children and adults/children with special needs. Provide training for ofﬁcers to assist in determining appropriate communication techniques for children with special needs to assist in deescalating a situation.

5. Explore creating a speciﬁc policy and strategies addressing hate crimes.

Village of Malone Police Reform Plan Page 21 of 30 ______V. Conclusion

The systemic issues that exist within all communities, like those in the Village of Malone, took decades to create. They are complex and deep-rooted. It will take time and focus to change the system while balancing the need for public safety and the professional and equitable application of policing. Upon submission of this plan, the immediate next steps are:

• The MVP Chief will schedule a transitional meeting with ADI and the current Police Reform Task Force for assessment of next best steps, by June 1, 2021; • From the transitional meeting the Chief of Police will create a new task force that will collaborate with ADI and/or other identiﬁed partners to create sub-committees required to address the recommendations of this plan, including a DEIA committee to address several community concerns that presented itself, all working cohesively together, by Fall 2021; • and MVP will release an updated community policing plan, by Fall 2021.

The Police Reform Committee would like to state that they are very appreciative of the positive performance of the Malone Village Police, which is supported by positive feedback and comments received from the community regarding their professionalism. Throughout this process we found that many progressive, forward thinking training and policy changes had already been established and reﬁned. Further, Chief Premo’s ability to utilize constructive criticism and open dialogue to work with us to better the department and community is applauded.

The Village of Malone and the MVP are committed to working with the community to make the changes necessary to address the issues so each and every member of our community feel safe, protected, and valued. ______

1 NYS Police Reform Plans that were reviewed were, Rochester Police Department, Olean Police Department, Cooperstown Police Department, Town of Manaroneck Police Department, Buffalo Police Reform Plan, Erie County Police Department, Village of Tupper Lake Police Department, Genesee County Police, Binghampton, and Village of Avon Police Department. 2 https://www.fbi.gov/services/cjis/ucr 3 Alliance for Community Policing. https://connect.transformgov.org/ 4 While best practices were formed, citied and/or changed to meet our community needs from RPD and ECPD’s Police Reform Plans, we also utilized the New York State Police Reform and Reinvention Collaborative Resources & Guide for Public Officials and Citizens to develop our list of most important issues to review. 5 IAPC “Responding to Hate Crimes a Police Officers Guide to Investigation and Prevention” https:// www.theiacp.org/resources/responding-to-hate-crimes-a-police-officers-guide-to-investigation-and-prevention 6 The Sentencing Project, “Reducing Racial Disparity in the Criminal Justice System A Manual for Practitioners and Policymakers.” The Sentencing Project Publication, 26-27 (2008) https://www.sentencingproject.org/wp- content/uploads/2016/01/Reducing-Racial-Disparity-in-the-Criminal-Justice-System-A-Manual-for-Practitioners- and-Policymakers.pdf 7 Taken from initial Village of Malone Police Reform draft by Calvin Martin, Phd

Village of Malone Police Reform Plan Page 22 of 30 8 Verbiage and idea from Robert Ross & James Button “Letter Providing Feedback to MVP Police Reform Plan” , March 29, 2021. 9 Eddy, A., Bergman, A.L., Kaplan, J. et al. A Qualitative Investigation of the Experience of Mindfulness Training Among Police Ofﬁcers. J Police Crime Psych 36, 63–71 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11896-019-09340-7 10 United States Conferences of Mayors, Report on Police Reform and Racial Justice, (2021) https:// www.usmayors.org/issues/police-reform/sanctity-of-life/

Village of Malone Police Reform Plan Page 23 of 30 APPENDIX

Village of Malone Police Reform Plan Page 24 of 30 APPENDIX A- Village of Malone NY Demographics

Village of Malone Police Reform Plan Page 25 of 30 QuickFacts Malone village, New York QuickFacts provides statistics for all states and counties, and for cities and towns with a population of 5,000 or more.

Table

Malone village, All Topics New York

Population estimates, July 1, 2019, (V2019) 5,600

 PEOPLE

Population Population estimates, July 1, 2019, (V2019) 5,600 Population estimates base, April 1, 2010, (V2019) 5,917 Population, percent change - April 1, 2010 (estimates base) to July 1, 2019, (V2019) -5.4% Population, Census, April 1, 2010 5,911

Age and Sex

Persons under 5 years, percent  7.4% Persons under 18 years, percent  21.7% Persons 65 years and over, percent  16.6% Female persons, percent  51.0% Race and Hispanic Origin

White alone, percent  97.1% Black or African American alone, percent (a)  0.2% American Indian and Alaska Native alone, percent (a)  0.1% Asian alone, percent (a)  0.0% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone, percent (a)  0.0% Two or More Races, percent  1.6% Hispanic or Latino, percent (b)  3.2% White alone, not Hispanic or Latino, percent  96.5% Population Characteristics Veterans, 2015-2019 307 Foreign born persons, percent, 2015-2019 1.4%

Housing Housing units, July 1, 2019, (V2019) X Owner-occupied housing unit rate, 2015-2019 47.1% Median value of owner-occupied housing units, 2015-2019 $83,600 Median selected monthly owner costs -with a mortgage, 2015-2019 $1,238 Median selected monthly owner costs -without a mortgage, 2015-2019 $570 Median gross rent, 2015-2019 $741 Building permits, 2019 X

Families & Living Arrangements Households, 2015-2019 2,426 Persons per household, 2015-2019 2.23 Living in same house 1 year ago, percent of persons age 1 year+, 2015-2019 79.0% Language other than English spoken at home, percent of persons age 5 years+, 2015-2019 3.1%

Computer and Internet Use Households with a computer, percent, 2015-2019 85.0% Households with a broadband Internet subscription, percent, 2015-2019 77.8%

Education High school graduate or higher, percent of persons age 25 years+, 2015-2019 82.8% Bachelor's degree or higher, percent of persons age 25 years+, 2015-2019 22.1%

Health With a disability, under age 65 years, percent, 2015-2019 18.9%

Persons without health insurance, under age 65 years, percent  3.2% Economy In civilian labor force, total, percent of population age 16 years+, 2015-2019 53.4% In civilian labor force, female, percent of population age 16 years+, 2015-2019 49.9%

Total accommodation and food services sales, 2012 ($1,000) (c) 6,458 Total health care and social assistance receipts/revenue, 2012 ($1,000) (c) 116,832 Total manufacturers shipments, 2012 ($1,000) (c) D Total merchant wholesaler sales, 2012 ($1,000) (c) 5,774 Total retail sales, 2012 ($1,000) (c) 169,902 Total retail sales per capita, 2012 (c) $28,856

Transportation Mean travel time to work (minutes), workers age 16 years+, 2015-2019 19.5

Income & Poverty Median household income (in 2019 dollars), 2015-2019 $39,722 Per capita income in past 12 months (in 2019 dollars), 2015-2019 $24,163

Persons in poverty, percent  32.0%

 BUSINESSES

Businesses Total employer establishments, 2018 X Total employment, 2018 X Total annual payroll, 2018 ($1,000) X Total employment, percent change, 2017-2018 X Total nonemployer establishments, 2018 X All firms, 2012 467 Men-owned firms, 2012 183 Women-owned firms, 2012 220 Minority-owned firms, 2012 F Nonminority-owned firms, 2012 405 Veteran-owned firms, 2012 28 Nonveteran-owned firms, 2012 380

 GEOGRAPHY

Geography Population per square mile, 2010 1,900.0 Land area in square miles, 2010 3.11 FIPS Code 3644710 About datasets used in this table

Value Notes

 Estimates are not comparable to other geographic levels due to methodology differences that may exist between different data sources.

Some estimates presented here come from sample data, and thus have sampling errors that may render some apparent differences between geographies statistically indistinguishable. Click the Quick Info  icon to the row in TABLE view to learn about sampling error.

The vintage year (e.g., V2019) refers to the final year of the series (2010 thru 2019). Different vintage years of estimates are not comparable.

Fact Notes (a) Includes persons reporting only one race (c) Economic Census - Puerto Rico data are not comparable to U.S. Economic Census data (b) Hispanics may be of any race, so also are included in applicable race categories

Value Flags - Either no or too few sample observations were available to compute an estimate, or a ratio of medians cannot be calculated because one or both of the median estimates falls in the lowest or upper int open ended distribution. F Fewer than 25 firms D Suppressed to avoid disclosure of confidential information N Data for this geographic area cannot be displayed because the number of sample cases is too small. FN Footnote on this item in place of data X Not applicable S Suppressed; does not meet publication standards NA Not available Z Value greater than zero but less than half unit of measure shown

QuickFacts data are derived from: Population Estimates, American Community Survey, Census of Population and Housing, Current Population Survey, Small Area Health Insurance Estimates, Small Area Income and P Estimates, State and County Housing Unit Estimates, County Business Patterns, Nonemployer Statistics, Economic Census, Survey of Business Owners, Building Permits.

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Accessibility | Information Quality | FOIA | Data Protection and Privacy Policy | U.S. Department of Commerce APPENDIX B- Deﬁned Boundaries of the Village of Malone

Village of Malone Police Reform Plan Page 26 of 30

APPENDIX C- Annual Crime Reports

Village of Malone Police Reform Plan Page 27 of 30

APPENDIX D- Use of Force Spreadsheet

Village of Malone Police Reform Plan Page 28 of 30 VILLAGE OF MALONE POLICE DEPARTMENT: USE OF FORCE LOG

DATE TOOL PURPOSE DEMOGRAPHIC NOTES: P&P FOLLOWED P&P REVISED DISCIPLINARY ACTION

10/24/2020 Taser Discon Caucasian/Male Yes No No

10/09/2020 Taser BW/Resist African American/ Male Yes No No

09/04/2020 Taser MHL Caucasian/Woman Yes No No 04/03/2020 Taser Assault 2nd Caucasian/Woman Yes No No

05/14/2020 Taser MHL Caucasian/Woman Yes No No

01/01/2018 Taser MHL Caucasian/Male Yes No No

08/04/2017 Taser DWI/Resist Caucasian/Male Yes No No

12/20/2016 Taser Dis/Com Caucasian/Male Yes No No 03/04/2016 Taser MHL Caucasian/Woman Yes No No

03/24/2016 Taser MHL Caucasian/Male Yes No No

12/11/2015 Taser Warrant/Resist Caucasian/Male Yes No No 12/02/2014 Taser MHL Caucasian/Male Yes No No

09/28/2014 Taser Assault 2nd Caucasian/Male Resist Yes No No

09/04/2014 Taser MHL Caucasian/Male Yes No No

07/12/2016 Taser DWI Caucasian/Woman Resist Yes No No

03/24/2014 Taser Dis/Com Caucasian/Male Resist Yes No No 09/05/2013 Taser MHL Caucasian/Male Yes No No

10/31/2013 Taser Warrant Caucasian/Male Resist Yes No No

10/13/2013 Taser Resist Caucasian/Male Yes No No 05/08/2013 Taser MHL Caucasian/Male Yes No No

06/02/2013 Taser Obstructing/Resist Caucasian/Male Resist Yes No No

05/23/2013 Taser MHL Natie American/Male Yes No No 05/18/2013 Taser MHL Caucasian/Male Yes No No

05/04/2013 Taser DWAI/Resist Caucasian/Male Resist Yes No No

01/01/2013 Taser MHL Caucasian/Male Yes No No

07/08/2012 Taser MHL Caucasian/Male Yes No No

07/08/2012 Taser MHL Caucasian/Male Yes No No 05/20/2012 Taser MHL Caucasian/Male Yes No No

04/25/2012 Taser Dis/Resist Caucasian/Male Resist Yes No No

12/29/2011 Taser MHL Caucasian/Woman Yes No No 11/29/2011 Taser MHL Caucasian/Male Yes No No

11/06/2011 Taser MHL Caucasian/Male Yes No No

11/27/2011 Taser MHL Caucasian/Woman Yes No No 02/17/2011 Taser CPW 4 Caucasian/Male Resist Yes No No

03/05/2011 Taser Assault Caucasian/Male Resist Yes No No

03/20/2011 Taser Assault Caucasian/Male Resist Yes No No

1 APPENDIX E- Deescalation Training

Village of Malone Police Reform Plan Page 29 of 30 Basic Course for Police Officers 4-V.1

Professional Communication Skills for Law Enforcement Part 4 Section V (8- Hours)

TOPIC DESCRIPTION

This section is intended to develop an officer’s communication and human relation skills throughout all law enforcement officer (LEO) personal contacts. The 8 hours of classroom instruction, practice, and practical application of demonstrated skills/techniques will include scenario simulations of everyday public contact to include positive and difficult public interactions. Scenarios included are designed for an officer to begin to build foundational professional communication skills based on the concepts taught in this section.

The goal is for learning to occur and not to create a situation where the solution to the interaction is solely fixated on one course of action. The objective is to develop problem solving skills through communication by offering options while maintaining the dignity and respect for all involved. This is not a curriculum in interview and interrogation procedures. This section, however, is to learn how to communicate both verbally and non-verbally with subjects and solicit information during the practical exercises that follow. Officers should feel confident following training that being recorded by another officer or a citizen is a common experience in our contemporary society. Although a camera does not guarantee that an officer performs admirably, its presence should not influence his/her professionalism and dedication to service.

INSTRUCTOR QUALIFICATIONS

Instructors in this topic are generally expected to be those certified by the Municipal Police Training Council. They should be able to document this by producing a current certificate issued by the Council. This certificate should read the person is certified as a general topics instructor. Further, they should possess a background and experience in the topical area, as documented to the school director. This supporting documentation should remain a part of the course file in the academy, available for later inspection or audit.

In addition, it is suggested that instructors in this subject be proficient in verbal skills to include a good working knowledge of current trained tactics and procedures instructed at their respective academy to include, but not limited to, officer safety, investigations, conflict management, use of force, defensive tactics, firearms, evidence awareness, body worn cameras, etc.

Basic Course for Police Officers 4-V.2

Training Objectives:

1. Define in writing situational awareness as described in this text.

2. List the three stages of conflict.

3. List the five maxims of communication.

4. List and define the elements of professional communication skills.

5. List officer generated barriers to communication.

6. List the suggested “do’s and don’ts” regarding de-escalation.

7. Explain how the concept of “contact and cover” relates directly to officer safety and communication.

8. Identify the signals of Understanding and Compliance.

9. Demonstrate professional communication skills (scenario based).

Basic Course for Police Officers 4-V.3

INTRODUCTION: After introducing the section and the learning objectives, explain you will begin with two activities and will not be graded on either activity.

Activity #1: Effective Communication Self-Evaluation:

To establish a basic awareness of the recruit’s communication habits, have the students complete the Self-Evaluation (Appendix – Professional Communications). Students should hold on to these assessments until the end of the class. At the end of the class, have the students review their answers to see if their communication skills have improved with this training.

Activity #2: Student Recall

The following activity (introducing yourself as the instructor) demonstrates the importance of communication, including active listening and note taking as a primary role of law enforcement.

1. Prepare a script of personal and professional details in advance.

2. Introduce yourself to the class modeling the “Basic Contact” format. Include in your introduction many personal details as well as your expertise as an instructor to teach the class.

3. Tell the class members that they will have 3 minutes to write down, individually, what they just heard.

4. When the time is up, ask participants to give details of your introduction as you record responses on the board or flip chart.

5. Once the class has recited all the information they recorded, you will provide your list via overhead or handout while explaining the purpose of the exercise.

Transition into Situational Awareness by reminding the students that in a controlled environment with minimal distractions it’s difficult to record all the details. However, to communicate effectively one must always be aware of their environment as change can occur at any moment.

Basic Course for Police Officers 4-V.4

Objective #1: Situational Awareness:

Situational Awareness Defined: Situational Awareness is an alertness of environmental elements and events with respect to time or space, the comprehension of their meaning, and the projection of their status after some variable has changed. Although law enforcement primarily equates situational awareness to threats, proxemics and of how this separation relates to environmental and cultural factors and weapons, its primary focus is on any change in environmental or interpersonal dynamics.

Situational awareness by law enforcement officers often affects perception and precognition based on their training and experiences.

Situational awareness is critical to officer survival in law enforcement and requires that officers are in an alert state to get the facts and act decisively.

Three important elements of situational awareness:

1. The officer must be emotionally, cognitively and physically present when working.

2. The officer must always be aware of what is happening around them.

3. The officer must be prepared to meet the challenges presented to them at any moment and respond appropriately.

Officer safety and effectiveness is hinged on knowledge and understanding. This knowledge and understanding is what we call situational awareness which is our ability to collect, correlate and store data in a fluid, dynamic environment, accurately predicting future events based on this real-time data collection so we may decide and act accordingly. In other words, we observe, orient, decide, and act based on the unfolding and current conditions and what we believe these unfolding conditions mean.

This means we must always be looking, searching for behavior that doesn’t fit the context of the contact. This includes the obvious gestures, words and or actions such as micro facial expressions and non-verbal gestures that are compatible or different with the circumstances.

It includes any other outside obvious or subtle factors that may dictate changes in the circumstances making them more dangerous or that allow you to observe and orient to an opportunity to increase voluntary compliance or physical control.

Environments are subject to constant change. Those we deal with could be hostile, friendly, or indifferent at any time. You must think, act and continually explore the situation until you reach a successful outcome.1

Basic Course for Police Officers 4-V.5

2. Objective #2: Stages of Conflict:

1. Anxiety

2. Verbal aggression

3. Physical aggression

It is important for law enforcement to understand the stages of conflict because not only will the officer encounter these stages with the public, they will also experience each stage themselves. Consider the following definitions:

1. Anxiety Defined: “a feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease, typically about an imminent event or something with an uncertain outcome.”

2. Situational anxiety “is caused by new situations or changing events. It can also be caused by various events that make that particular individual uncomfortable. Its occurrence is very common.”

Based on these definitions, every encounter is new. There is always unease, nervousness, and worry because the outcome is almost always uncertain. These factors and others, if not recognized and addressed will most likely escalate to verbal aggression and ultimately physical aggression.

Indicators of Verbal Aggression:

1. Increase in one’s tone and pitch.

2. Facial expressions which indicate disagreement, anger, frustration.

3. Body language such as, shaking of the head, pacing, etc.

These and other signs, if not managed will escalate to physical aggression. So, how does one reduce anxiety in any situation and manage verbal aggression so that physical aggression will not occur?

Example:

1. A polite and courteous greeting. a. Example: Good morning my name of Officer/Deputy ______from the ______Department. How are you feeling? (Listen to their response and observe their non-verbal behavior.)

b. Let the person know why you are there: “I’m here because or I have stopped you because.

Basic Course for Police Officers 4-V.6

c. Ask for their cooperation: May I please see your license and registration. I’d like to talk with you about______. Is that ok with you?

d. Let them know what you are going to do. Sir/Ma’am, I am going to write you a ticket for ______. Please, for your safety and the safety of other drivers, please stay in your vehicle.

2. Ultimately the encounter should (all are on-going from beginning to end):

a. Lower Emotions

b. Establish Rapport

c. Encourage Conversation

d. Gather Information

Scenario/Individual Exercise: Using a police and citizen recorded encounter, properly identify the stages of conflict the officer(s) are engaged. Ask the students how this situation could have been resolved. (Instructor to identify suitable video example(s), clearing showing the levels of conflict, and play at this time).

Objective #3: The Five (5) Maxims of Communication: There are five maxims (universal truths) of communication that must be considered as we further examine professional communications. The five maxims are:

1. All people want to be treated with dignity and respect. “Regardless of race, gender, age, social standing, or cultural background, people behave differently when they feel they’ve been disrespected, and that behavior generally won’t be to your advantage.

2. All people want to be asked rather than told to do something. Commands often set up an escalation of conflict.

3. All people want to be told why they are being asked to do something. You are merely explaining the rule, policy, or law that justifies your request.

4. All people want to be given options rather than threats. You need to “sell” why they should comply with your request or direction. Start with the good options—what they’ll gain by cooperating with you. If someone has something to gain or lose in a situation, you have something to work with.”

5. All people want a second chance.

Basic Course for Police Officers 4-V.7

Objective #4: The Elements of Communication Skills:

What is Professional Communication?

Professional Communication involves three separate concepts:

1. Professional

2. Communication

3. Skills

Professional: Today’s officer is expected to be a professional.

To help students understand the use of communication within the professional law enforcement role, have class brainstorm attributes of a “PROFESSIONAL” as instructor records responses on flip chart.

What does that mean? What differentiates professional communication from ordinary communication? While there are many different definitions of what it means to be a professional, most of them involve these seven (7) concepts:

Ethics: a professional is expected to meet high ethical standards

Respect: a professional is expected to show respect for others and to earn the respect of others.

Appearance: a professional is expected to “look the part” by being fit, well-groomed and neat.

Demeanor: a professional is expected to exhibit a calm and authoritative demeanor, regardless of how others around are reacting.

Diligence: a professional is expected to complete assigned tasks carefully and thoroughly, and to do any necessary follow-up.

Competence: a professional is expected to have the knowledge and skill to do the job at hand.

Attitude: a professional is expected to demonstrate a positive, helpful, and respectful attitude, and to be a positive representative for his or her employer.

Communication: Law enforcement officers spend much of their work time communicating in one way or another. Sometimes the communication is verbal, as

Basic Course for Police Officers 4-V.8 when an officer interviews a witness or gives directions. Sometimes it is non-verbal, as when an officer uses presence or body language to convey a message to someone.

Communication can be oral, written or non-verbal.

Communication is a process that involves four basic elements:

1. A Sender

2. A Message

3. The atmosphere in which the communication takes place

4. A Receiver

The Basic Process of Communicating2

The basic process of communicating includes the following steps:

1. A message must be conveyed

2. The message must be received

3. There must be a response

4. Each message must be understood

A Message Must Be Conveyed:

This sounds simple. You know what your thoughts are and you know how to translate them into words, but can you convey the message in a way another person can understand? Will you use words that are clear to the other person or will your words mean something different to the other person? You need to be clear about why you are communicating and what you want to communicate.

Before you start communicating, take a moment to figure out what you want to say and why. Too often people just keep talking or writing because they think that by saying more they’ll surely cover all the points. Often, however, this confuses the people they are talking to.

2 Mind Tools (March 2010) How Good Are Your Communication Skills? Speaking, Listening, Writing, and Reading Effectively retrieved from http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newCS_99.htm on August 11, 2010. NYS Division of Criminal Justice Services, Office of Public Safety: Copyright 2017 (September 2017)

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To plan your communication:

Understand your objective. Why are you communicating?

Understand your audience. With whom are you communicating? What do they need to know?

Plan what you want to say and how you will send your message.

A Message Must Be Received:

The second step in the communication process is that the message be received and understood. When you know what you want to say, decide exactly how you will say it.

You are responsible for sending a message that is clear and concise. To do this, you need to consider not only what you will say, but also how you think the recipient will perceive it.

We often focus on the message we want to send and the way which we want to send it. But if our message is delivered without considering the other person’s perspective, it is likely the part of the message that will be lost.

To communicate more effectively:

1. Understand what you truly need and want to say.

2. Anticipate the other person’s reaction to your message.

3. Choose words and, if appropriate, use body language that helps the other person really hear what you are saying.

With written communication, make sure that what you write will be perceived the way you intend.

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When writing, take time to do the following:

a) Review your style.

b) Avoid jargon or slang.

c) Check your grammar and punctuation.

d) Check also for tone, attitude, nuance, and other subtleties. If you think the message may be misunderstood, it probably will.

e) Take the time to clarify it.

f) Familiarize yourself with the various reports you will have to complete.

There Must Be a Response:

The goal of all communication is to obtain the desired response. You want to say something correctly and have the other person understand what you mean by it. You also want the other person to do something in response. You will have in mind actions or reactions you hope your message will get from the other person(s).

Be aware, that each individual enters the communication process with ideas and feelings that will influence their understanding of your message, and their response. You should consider these before delivering your message and act appropriately.

The other person(s) that you are communicating with will respond to your message with verbal and/or non-verbal reactions. Pay close attention to these reactions because these responses will let you know if the person(s) understand your message or not. If you find that there has been a misunderstanding, you have the opportunity to send the message a second time.

During the other person’s response, you should:

Look at the person.

Pay attention to his or her body language.

Avoid distractions.

Nod and smile to acknowledge points.

Occasionally think back about what the person said.

Allow the person to speak, without thinking about what you will say next.

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Do not interrupt.

You need to watch and listen to the person’s response to ensure he or she understands your message. A verbal response is important, but watching the other person’s body language is perhaps the most important source of clues that your message is being understood.

By watching their facial expressions, gestures, and posture you can spot:

1. Confidence levels.

2. Defensiveness.

3. Agreement.

4. Comprehension (or lack of understanding)

5. Level of interest.

6. Level of engagement with the message.

7. Truthfulness (or lying/dishonesty).

Each Message Must Be Understood. Once a message has been delivered, received and responded to, it is time to take stock of what each person has communicated. The cycle of communication is complete only when you come away with a clearer understanding of the person with whom you communicated with. You may not always agree with the other person, and the other person may not always agree with you, but it is important that you understand each other. WHY Is Professional Communication So Important?

Approaching your work as a professional and communicating skillfully (both on and off the job) can make you safer and more effective, and can enhance your career development.

Good communicators are safer on the job because they are less likely to have physical confrontations with citizens. An officer who is skilled in talking with people can often get people to comply voluntarily with his or her directives, when a less-skilled communicator would need to rely on force. A few well-chosen words can make an individual reevaluate a situation and decide to cooperate.

Officers often get hurt in physical confrontations, even if they are proficient in subject control or arrest techniques, simply because the situation is fluid and dynamic. At the same time, good communicators can more easily gain the trust and support of individuals and the entire community, so that everyday encounters with the public are

Basic Course for Police Officers 4-V.12 less apt to be hostile. Of course, not every suspect can be “talked” under arrest but many can. Even if you objectively reasonable amount of force is used, you will need to “come full circle” and finish the interaction with words.

Good communicators are more effective officers for several reasons. Obviously, the clearer the message, the less likelihood there is of someone misinterpreting the officer’s intentions. Interestingly, the way something is said can be more important than the words themselves. Most agencies find that the bulk of citizen complaints involve officers who were perceived to be rude or overbearing. A skilled communicator is less likely to have complaints lodged against him or her, and better able to represent his or her agency positively. Additionally, skilled communicators write clearer, more precise reports reducing rework and making testifying in court easier.

Overall, good communication makes doing your job easier and less stressful, and enhances your career development. As you move up the ladder to positions with wider responsibilities, clear communication is essential, both within the organization and with the public. For that reason, skilled communicators are more likely to be promoted with a resulting increase in job satisfaction. The benefits of being a skilled communicator can spill over into your personal life as well, boosting your confidence and self-esteem and enhancing your personal relationships.

Who Is Listening?

As an officer, you cannot escape being in the public eye. You are easy to identify because you wear a uniform. You are often seen not as an individual, but as a representative of your agency or even a representative of law enforcement and corrections in general. What you say and do, and the way you behave at any given moment may have implications far beyond the situation you are facing. We’ve all heard stories of officers saying or doing something in an unguarded moment that sets off a storm of controversy. The short answer to “Who is listening?” is everyone.

You should assume that whatever you say, write, or do could appear in tomorrow’s newspaper or be headlined on various social media sites, the evening news, etc.

In the State of New York, most documents are public records, including electronic messages typed into a mobile data terminal (MDT) in a patrol car. An offhand remark, or derogatory comment intended as a joke can come back to haunt you.

When an officer is dealing with a citizen on the street, other citizens are watching and often-times recording the encounter. What seems like a minor over-reaction in the context of a heated exchange can look like an officer out of control without that context.

Professionals avoid the risk of being misinterpreted by communicating in a controlled and professional manner.

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Public Cooperation or Resistance: An Issue in Communication: As an officer, you always want people to cooperate. If they do, it makes the job easier and smoother and eliminates all sorts of problems. However, whether people cooperate with or resist officers often depends on how they perceive law enforcement in general.

Perceptions can come from many sources.

These include: • Their own interactions with law enforcement, and/or those of their family and friends.

• Stories or anecdotes told by one person to another, based on their own interactions with law enforcement and/or those of their acquaintances.

• Rumors based on the stories or anecdotes people have heard about others’ interactions with officers

An encounter between an officer and a citizen can have a definite “ripple effect” It can influence many other people’s perceptions about law enforcement, which in turn will influence how they respond to officers. A negative interaction can make it harder for the next officer who has to deal with that person or those close to him or her. Conversely, an officer who is both professional and a skilled communicator can make it easier for the next officer. “Word gets around” for the good as well as the bad.

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Strategies for Staying Positive:

Staying positive is not always easy. You will deal with difficult people regularly, and you will see many frustrating and discouraging situations. It would be easy to become cynical and negative. A negative attitude is not only unprofessional, it makes good communication difficult, and it is hard on you personally because it can increase stress. It’s important to stay positive. Here are some strategies for keeping a positive attitude:

1. Recognize that you are a “volunteer"; you chose to be an officer. Revisit your reasons for choosing this career.

2. Take pride in what you do as a professional; do the best work you can.

3. Remember that you have chosen a career in public service. As a public servant, you have a responsibility to deal with all people you encounter on the job in a professional manner.

4. Understand your goals and your role as a professional. Keep in mind that you can make a positive difference in the lives of people in your community.

Before learning the specific communication skills that you will use as an officer, you will learn about some basic communication skills that you can use in all aspects of your life. They lay the foundation for the communication skills specific to jails and law enforcement. 3

ACTIVE LISTENING

One of the most important communication skills you will use is active listening. Listening means hearing and understanding what people are saying. The term active listening refers to a specific way of listening very attentively and effectively to someone else. As a law enforcement or jail officer, you will need to use your listening skills in many different situations, ranging from getting basic information from someone who is calm and cooperative to dealing with an extremely agitated or upset individual. Active listening will help you in all contexts.

Active listening, which involves both non-verbal and verbal behavior, can be divided into three basic skills:

1. Attending skills

2. Following skills

3 Some of the material in this section is based on concepts and techniques presented in Interpersonal Communications in the Correctional Setting: Instructor’s Guide, U.S. Department of Justice, 1983 (public domain). NYS Division of Criminal Justice Services, Office of Public Safety: Copyright 2017 (September 2017)

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3. Responding skills

Attending Skills:

The word attending means giving your attention—physically and mentally—to another person. It is a form of non-verbal communication that shows that you are paying attention—that you are interested in finding out what the other person is trying to say. Examples of non-verbal communication involved in attending include:

Using appropriate body language to show that you are listening.

Using appropriate body movement to show that you are listening.

Maintaining eye contact.

Minimizing environmental distractions.

Using appropriate body language to show that you are listening. Your body posture conveys a lot to a subject with whom you are communicating. This is certainly true when you are listening to someone.

The following appropriate body language techniques can be used to show that you are listening:

• Face the other person. This helps show that you are paying attention. On the other hand, when you face away from a person who is talking to you, you communicate that you are not paying close attention.

• Slightly lean your body toward the speaker. This also communicates that you are paying attention and that you want to hear what the other person is saying. However, you do not want to lean too far toward the other person, because that may be perceived as being intrusive; an invasion of the other person’s personal space. Also, by putting yourself off-balance, you can lose your position of advantage. On the other hand, if you lean back too far or slouch when listening to someone, you often convey the message that you are not interested.

• Maintain an open position, with arms and legs uncrossed. When you cross your arms or legs in a communication situation, it often conveys the message that you are in a defensive or “closed” posture. You are in effect putting up a barrier to being a receptive listener. Be aware of your stance.

• Maintain an appropriate distance from the other person. When listening to someone, you should be neither too close nor too far away from the other person. If you are too close, you invade his or her “personal space” and cause discomfort. On the other hand, if you are too far away you give the message that you are uninterested, which impedes good communication. In American culture,

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an acceptable distance to maintain from another person in most communication situations is about three feet.

• Be aware that personal space varies in different cultures—it can be more or less than the three feet normal for our culture. Remember also that officer safety concerns may dictate that three feet is too close.

Using appropriate body movement to show that you are listening.

If you remain perfectly still while listening to someone, you may be perceived as cold, aloof, and uninterested. On the other hand, if you move around too much, or shift from foot to foot, or fidget with objects or things in your pockets, etc., you may give the message that you are too distracted or otherwise uninterested. It is best to move slightly while you're listening, and to use appropriate body movements, such as nodding your head and other appropriate gestures, including facial expression. The key is to try to maintain a balance between appearing too controlled, aloof and unresponsive on the one hand, and overly animated or nervous on the other hand.

Maintaining eye contact.

• This is one of the most important guidelines. Your eyes convey a lot about your attitude in any communication situation, particularly when you are listening to someone. A person will tell from your eye contact whether or not you are interested in and receptive to what he or she is saying. However, be aware that cultural differences may mean that, for some people, direct eye contact may be perceived as hostile, threatening, or disrespectful. Or a subject may—for cultural reasons—not maintain eye contact with you. That does not necessarily mean that the person is not listening

• Effective eye contact does not mean that you stare unblinking into the other person’s eyes. Instead, it means that you generally focus on the other person’s eyes, but occasionally glance elsewhere, to the person’s gesturing hand or other part of his or her body. Do not constantly look away from the speaker, or stare blankly into space, or stare at his or her body rather than face.

Be sure that while generally maintaining eye contact, you also watch the subject’s hands, and periodically check on your surroundings.

Minimizing environmental distractions.

• In a listening situation, try to minimize such environmental distractions as televisions or radios, stereos, etc., because such background noises are barriers to effective communication.

• To the extent possible, it is also a good idea to minimize physical barriers such as desks or other items of furniture between you and the other person. When a

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listener (receiver) sits facing a desk, for example, it too often conveys that the person behind the desk (the person sending the message) is in a position of authority in relation to the other person.

• On the other hand, sometimes physical barriers can be useful in terms of officer safety; you may want barriers between you and a subject. Even though barriers may impede the free flow of communication, there may be times when your tactical evaluation dictates that a barrier is warranted.

Following Skills • A good listener is one who does the best he or she can to follow what the other person is saying, and then to encourage the other person to keep on talking, so that effective communication is fostered rather than discouraged.

These techniques often work well:

• Using effective “door openers”

• Using simple words and phrases to encourage the person to talk

• Asking open questions

• Using silence effectively

Using effective “door openers.”

• Door openers are gentle invitations to get the other person to talk. They are good to use when you sense that the other person needs some encouragement to talk, or continue talking, about something.

• A door opener may be a comment on a person’s body language:

Example: “You look like you’re not feeling well today.”

Or it may be a remark such as “Care to talk about it?” or “Tell me more” that invites the other person to keep talking. In other cases, simply by showing through posture and eye contact that you are interested, you can “open the door” and invite the other person to talk. Of course, you should take care not to use such door openers in a routine or mechanical way. They should fit into the flow of the communication situation.

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Using simple words and phrases to encourage the other person to talk.

You can use many simple words and phrases to indicate to the other person that you are listening and to try to encourage him or her to keep on talking. Here are some examples:

Examples:

• “Mmm-hmm”

• “Oh?”

• “Go on”

• “Really?”

• “And then?”

• “For instance?”

• “I see”

• “Tell me more”

These words or phrases are neutral; they do not imply either agreement or disagreement with the speaker. They just let him or her know that you are listening, and they are a way of urging the person to continue talking.

Asking open questions.

• Asking open questions is another way to show that you are following what the other person is saying and to encourage him or her to keep on talking. Open questions, which call for longer, more detailed answers, usually work better to encourage continued talking than do closed questions, which can be answered by a simple “yes” or “no.”

Examples of open questions:

• “How did these cigarettes end up in your cell?”

• “What can you tell me about your behavior?”

Examples of closed questions:

• “Is that your pack of cigarettes?”

• “Were you drunk at the time?”

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Open questions are usually preferable because they encourage the other person to say more. In addition to providing needed information, a longer answer helps you to better gauge the speaker’s state of mind. You may, for example, be able to assess if the other person is emotionally disturbed or distressed, under the effects of alcohol or drugs, or perhaps even mentally ill.

Open questions can also help you assess a person’s level of threat.

In general, you should avoid asking leading questions—those that lead the other person to a particular response. For example, “Was the car red?” or “Did Smith bring those drugs in?” are leading questions, because they suggest that the car might have been red or that Smith was responsible for the drugs found in the cell block.

Leading questions can lead people to say “yes” even if they aren’t sure. On the other hand, asking, “What color was the car?” or “How did these drugs get in here?” are not leading questions, because they do not suggest answers.

There may be times when asking a leading question may be appropriate. For example, when questioning a suspect, you might ask a question such as, “Did you plan to steal the sweater or was it a spur-of-the-moment decision?” Because you have presented only two choices, the suspect (if guilty) is likely to answer, “It was spur-of-the-moment,” thus effectively admitting to the crime.

While asking questions is a good technique, be careful not to ask too many questions— unless, of course, you mean to interrupt the other person for a valid reason, such as to redirect his or her attention.

Using silence effectively.

Many of us are afraid of silences during a conversation, feeling that they are awkward and uncomfortable. We too often feel compelled to fill any conversational gaps rather than endure an “awkward” silence. However, silence during a conversation can be a good thing. Sometimes just being silent gives the other person an opportunity to think and to collect his or her thoughts. It gives the other person the message that he or she need not feel pressured to respond immediately.

Silence may also make the other person feel awkward during your silence. He or she may then fill the awkward moment by giving you information you might otherwise not have received. During a short period of silence, a good listener should give attention to the other person, showing by body posture, eye contact and facial expression that he or she is “attending.” This may signal the other person that you expect further information to be forthcoming.

A period of silence cannot last forever. While it may be a good idea just to be quiet for a few moments, if the other person does not answer, then you may have to say something. Try rephrasing your question to trigger a response.

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Responding Skills

Responding skills are also involved in active listening. As an active listener, you respond to the other person by showing him or her that you understand and accept what he or she is saying. As with other communication skills, the ability to respond to other people effectively is a matter of knowing the basic skills and of practicing these skills continuously.

Effectively responding to other people involves:

1. Responding to content

2. Responding to feelings

3. Responding to content and feelings together

Responding to content.

• One of the ways in which you respond to other people is on the basis of the content of what they say. In this part, you listen carefully to the other person and try to let him or her know that you heard accurately and are reacting to what is being said. When a person feels that the listener hears accurately, the person will be more likely to talk freely. When that happens, you are more likely to get the information you need.

• One of the best techniques for responding to the content of what a person has said is by paraphrasing it.

• Paraphrasing means summarizing in your own words what the speaker said. A good paraphrase should be concise (as short as possible) and should focus on the content of the speaker’s message, rather than on his or her feelings.

In paraphrasing, you put the speaker’s statement in your own words.

Examples of paraphrasing:

Speaker: “I’m just driving along, minding my own business, and all of a sudden this dog is in the road and I tried to brake but I couldn’t avoid hitting him.”

Listener: “You’re saying that you couldn’t avoid hitting your neighbor’s dog with your car.”

Speaker: “I just got a letter from my lady and she’s telling me she’s sick of me and never wants to see me again. Without her I might as well end it all.”

Listener: “So you’re feeling suicidal because your girlfriend wants to break up with you.”

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Speaker: “I know they just asked me to leave, but I just put $3 worth of quarters in the jukebox and I ain’t leaving until they play.”

Listener: “So you understand that you have to leave at some point, but you want to hear your music first.”

Paraphrasing is a good technique to use, for several reasons.

First, it helps reduce the likelihood of misunderstandings, by serving as a sort of accuracy check—it gives feedback to the speaker on whether his or her message is getting through accurately.

Second, it helps the person feel that the listener is truly paying attention. Finally, it exposes exaggeration. When people are upset, they may make statements that are overblown; hearing those statements rephrased sometimes helps the person to be more accurate.

Paraphrasing is not the same as parroting—just repeating back the person’s own words.

Example of parroting:

Speaker: “I feel bad because I just ran over the neighbor’s dog.”

Listener: “You feel bad because you just ran over the neighbor’s dog.”

To use paraphrasing, follow these steps:

Take a moment to reflect on what you have heard. Then ask yourself: What is this person saying?

After you observe, listen and think about it for a moment, summarize—in your own words—what you think the other person has said. You may find some of these phrases useful in responding:

• “You’re saying ______.”

• “What I think you’re saying is ______.”

• “I hear you saying that ______.”

• “If I’m understanding you correctly, ______.”

Ask the other person to confirm that your understanding of their message is correct.

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Responding to feelings.

In addition to trying to respond to the content of what a person has said, you also need to respond to the feelings, or emotions, that the person seems to be expressing. Doing so is important for several reasons:

If a person is experiencing difficult, negative emotions—sadness, depression, anxiety, etc.—your showing that you understand those feelings can help defuse them a bit, by helping the person to “talk out” feelings, rather than to “act out.”

Conversely, you can reinforce positive feelings that a person may express. Such reinforcement may then lead to more positive behavior.

The process can help the other person to better understand his or her own feelings. When someone else reflects feelings back to us, sometimes that process leads to insights that were not there before.

In responding to feelings, you should observe the person and listen to him or her. In listening, try to be aware of two things:

1. The nature of the feelings, or emotions, that the person seems to be experiencing—such as anger, sadness, fear, confusion, happiness, etc.

2. The intensity of those emotions or feelings—for example, whether a person is feeling extremely angry or only mildly angry, or if a person is just somewhat sad because of a particular situation or seems extremely sad, perhaps even clinically depressed.

Just as paraphrasing is an effective way to respond to content by reflecting it back to the speaker, an effective way to respond to feelings is to reflect back what you perceive those feelings to be. When you are verifying these feelings, stick closely to the speaker’s exact words. For example, when you are dealing with negative emotions, encourage the speaker to be as specific as possible. The word “upset” is too general to be useful. As you clarify what you are hearing, offer the speaker words that are more specific, such as angry, afraid, guilty, ashamed, or frustrated.

Examples:

• “You feel frustrated.”

• “You feel very frustrated.” (to show your perception of the intensity of the person’s feelings: not merely frustrated, but very frustrated.)

• “You seem to be feeling angry about what happened.”

When you give such responses, you must use a calm, neutral tone of voice. Do not be sarcastic or demeaning or judgmental. You are simply making an observation with the purpose of telling the other person that you are tuned in to his or her emotions. Naturally, you may in fact be right or wrong when trying to interpret what someone else NYS Division of Criminal Justice Services, Office of Public Safety: Copyright 2017 (September 2017)

Basic Course for Police Officers 4-V.23 is feeling. However, whether you are right or wrong is much less significant than that you tried to understand what the person was feeling. Most people will appreciate that effort, because it is a form of human connection.

However, a person may become angry if he or she feels that you have underestimated or otherwise misconstrued the nature or intensity of his or her feelings. That is understandable—and it still gives the person a basis for talking about things instead of acting out feelings. At times, improperly assessing the intensity of another person’s feelings might cause the person to feel even more agitated, because he or she might then conclude that you really don’t understand. In such a case, you may have to re- assess and re-state your perception of their feelings.

Example:

• Person: “No, officer, I’m not a little frustrated…I’m REALLY pissed off.”

• Officer: “Okay, you’re very frustrated and angry. I can see that.”

As noted, responding to a person’s feelings in this way can help defuse negative feelings—that is, it can help prevent negative feelings from being turned into negative actions. Additionally, responding to feelings at a verbal level may give you clues as to a person’s intentions. For example, if a person says little or nothing after you’ve responded to his or her feelings, it may be a clue that he or she intends to act out those feelings. However, if a person opens up and offers more information that may be a clue that he or she is ready to talk feelings out instead of acting them out.

Responding to content and feelings together.

Ideally, you should try to respond to both the content (meaning) and the feeling (emotions) of what a person has said. By doing so, you again try to accomplish several goals:

Encourage the person to talk things out rather than to act them out

Get information about what the person is thinking or feeling, so that you will better understand his or her state of mind, emotions, and point-of-view

Help defuse negative emotions

When you respond to both content and feeling, you should try to use a response along these lines: “You feel [a certain emotion] because [the reason that you think is behind the feeling.]”

Examples:

“You feel worried because you think your wife will be mad at you for driving drunk and getting brought to jail.”

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“You are afraid because you think you’re going to lose your driver’s license.”

In making these statements, you are basically trying to rephrase the person’s message and feelings in your own words, in order to try to capture the importance of what happened to that person.

This sort of statement may encourage the person to open up more, because he or she will perceive that you are trying to understand him or her.

It can help build up trust. When a person feels able to trust you more, he or she may be more willing to answer your questions. Although not always successful, these techniques will make your questions more productive.

ASKING AND ANSWERING QUESTIONS

The ability to ask questions effectively is an important specific communication skill area. It may seem that asking questions is simple enough that anyone could do it properly. But it is not as easy as it looks. We saw that asking questions effectively is an important part of being an active listener. We discussed the importance of asking “open” questions, rather than “closed” questions as a way to encourage the other person to talk.

When you ask questions of a person, it is usually for one of several purposes:

1. To obtain specific information: who, what, when, where, why, how and how much

2. To obtain a person’s opinion or viewpoint about something

3. To elicit truthful responses from a subject

4. To obtain more detailed answers

5. To encourage a person to keep on talking (as discussed above)

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Guidelines for Asking Questions

When you ask questions of another person, you will be more effective if you keep these guidelines in mind:

1. When appropriate, explain the purpose and direction of your questioning.

2. Maintain good eye contact with the other person.

3. Keep your tone of voice neutral and professional, but interested.

4. Make sure your body language and other non-verbal cues match your words.

5. Be polite and respectful. Use “sir” and “ma’am” and do not be afraid to thank the other person for cooperating by answering your questions.

6. Speak slowly and clearly, and try to use language that the other person is likely to understand.

7. When appropriate, explain the purpose and direction of your questioning.

This is a common courtesy and may increase the likelihood that the other person will answer your questions honestly.

It’s a good idea to introduce yourself and identify your agency at start of your contact as well.

Examples:

• “Good evening, Mr. Johnson. I’m not sure we’ve met, I’m Officer Peterson. I noticed that you were in your bunk for the after-dinner count. I think you know our rules require that all inmates have to stand for every count. Is there some reason you didn’t get up for the count?”

• “Good morning, sir. My name is Officer Jones of the Blue County Sheriff’s Department. The reason I’ve stopped you today is that you were going 68 miles per hour on highway 18…Is there some reason you were in a hurry?”

Maintain good eye contact with the other person.

• As noted in the last section, eye contact indicates to the other person that you are being attentive. But be careful not to stare. Also, while maintaining eye contact, be sure to stay aware of other things that are going on around you. Don’t get so focused in on the person you are questioning that you lose track of your environment.

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Keep your tone of voice neutral and professional, but interested.

• Your tone of voice is very important. If your tone of voice is perceived as sarcastic or uninterested, or suggests that you do not believe what the other person is saying, then he or she is less likely to answer honestly, or at all. Try to keep your voice neutral and try to give the impression that you are truly interested in hearing what the other person has to say. Try to minimize your emotion when asking questions.

Make sure your body language and other non-verbal cues match your words.

• As with tone of voice, if your non-verbal cues—body posture, facial expressions, physical distance, etc.—convey a negative message to the other person, he or she will be less likely to cooperate. If there is any inconsistency between what you are saying and how you are saying it, the other person will pick up on that.

Be polite and respectful. Use “sir” and “ma’am” and do not be afraid to thank the other person for cooperating by answering your question.

• As noted elsewhere, simple courtesy can go a long way toward encouraging good feelings and, hopefully, voluntary compliance. It’s human nature to respond more positively to someone who is polite and respectful rather than demanding and rude.

Speak slowly and clearly and try to use language that the other person is likely to understand.

• You must know your audience. If you use words or phrases that the other person cannot readily understand, then he or she will certainly be less likely to answer your question properly. However, using profane or obscene language is never appropriate, even if you think that such language will be readily understood. Remember that others will be listening, including citizens, media representatives, and so on. Your use of profane or obscene language, even if done with good intentions, can seriously harm your and your agency’s relationship with the community.

Unless you, as an officer, have a strong basis of experience with a particular subgroup, avoid using idioms and slang phrases that are specific to that subgroup.

It is very important to have rapport with a particular subgroup before using their language. Such rapport can take a long time and a lot of experience to develop.

For example, an officer of a certain ethnic or religious background talking to someone of the same ethnicity or religion may be able to use certain phrases that might not be accepted if used by someone from outside that particular group. Use of cultural idioms or slang phrases by officers not of that culture could be perceived as highly unprofessional. If in doubt, avoid culture-specific language. NYS Division of Criminal Justice Services, Office of Public Safety: Copyright 2017 (September 2017)

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Responding to Requests or Questions

As an officer, you will often receive requests or questions from people. The way in which you handle such requests or questions can make a significant difference in the outcome of your interaction. Some requests or questions will be legitimate, while in other cases people may be trying to “play games” with you or even mislead you.

When someone asks a question, or makes a request, you have two fundamental tasks:

1. Evaluate the question or request.

2. Respond to the question or request.

Evaluate the question or request. When someone asks a question of you or makes a request, try to be non-judgmental, but try to get as much information as you can.

Follow these steps:

Using your active-listening skills, give the person your closest attention. Listen carefully to the words that the person says, and pay careful attention to body language and other non-verbal cues. Never assume that a person’s words alone convey intent or meaning.

Evaluate the request or question, and ask follow-up questions, if necessary, to get further information. Often, if you respond too quickly (before thinking about what the person has said and weighing your response) you will say the wrong thing. Your too- hasty response might, for example, be just an emotional reaction rather than a reasoned answer.

Offer a response. Your response should be polite and respectful, even if the request or question was silly, or the person was rude or otherwise disrespectful. Remember: you always have the responsibility to act professionally.

Follow these guidelines:

Make your response brief, direct, and to the point without being abrupt, sarcastic, or rude. If you do not know an answer, or have to say no to someone, do so directly but always politely and respectfully. In some instances, it will be appropriate to check on the right answer and get back to the person with that answer. If you say you will do that, always follow through.

Whenever possible, explain why you are responding as you are. Your reason should be direct and to the point, so that the person can easily understand. This is particularly important if you have to say no to a person. If you just say no without explanation, the person may feel you are using your authority capriciously.

Examples of not enough explanation:

• “That’s the way it is”

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• “That’s our policy”

• "Because I said so"

Without more information, these responses sound rude and abrupt.

Be sure that your reason is truthful and valid. Your reason may be based on the law, a rule, department policy and procedure, a safety issue, or some other valid reason, such as to ensure safety. Giving a reason may help generate voluntary compliance from a person. Remember, getting voluntary compliance is always your goal.

Start your response with an appropriate word, such as “sir” or “ma’am,” to show respect.

Examples of appropriate responses:

• “I’m sorry, sir, but you can’t enter the building at this time because the Fire Department has told us it’s not safe.”

• “Sir, I don’t know if your P.O. is coming to see you today. If I hear from him, I’ll let you know.”

• “The reason I’ve stopped you, sir, is because we received a report of a suspicious person in the area and you fit the description.”

Sometimes, a person will continue to ask “Why?” even after you have given a response to his or her request or question. At some point, you may then have to end the interaction, quickly and decisively.

Example:

• “Sir, I’ve answered your question and told you why. Now you need to move away from here.”

In such a situation, if the person refuses to cooperate even when you have been polite and respectful, you will probably have to use a different approach, about which you will learn later. Remember, if you don’t know an answer, it’s okay to say, “I don’t know why…” or “Here’s where you can find that out,” and refer the subject to a supervisor.

Objective #5: Barriers to Effective Communication

You learned many techniques to help you communicate effectively with people. Nevertheless, you will not always succeed in communicating effectively and achieving

Basic Course for Police Officers 4-V.29 your goal of voluntary compliance. Even if you are very skilled, you may be faced with barriers that make communication difficult.

Some of these barriers you can control; they have to do with the way you think and react to the subject. Those you can actively work to change. Some of them are not under your control, and you simply have to manage them the best you can.

This section addresses three categories of barriers to effective communication:

1. Officer-generated barriers

2. Physical barriers

3. Interpersonal barriers

OFFICER-GENERATED BARRIERS

To effectively apply the communication skills and techniques you learned earlier, you must make sure that you do not unintentionally undermine the communication process by your own assumptions and actions.

Key ways in which officers sometimes make effective communication more difficult are:

1. Believing the fight-or-flight fallacy

2. Falling prey to presumed compliance

3. Using police jargon

4. Indulging in actions that provoke other people

5. Reacting to “hot buttons”

6. Time constraints

Believing the Fight-or-Flight Fallacy

We have all heard that when faced with a dangerous or threatening situation, a person will do one of two things; either flee or face their “enemy” and fight. Officers, therefore, often believe that when they give a person a verbal request or order using proper communication skills that the person will either comply or resist by fighting or running. While many people do in fact choose one of these responses, these are not the only choices.

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Some people, when requested or ordered to do something by an officer, will appear to comply, to give the officer the false impression that they are cooperative. In reality, they are not complying. Instead, they are attempting to put the officer at ease so that they can gain a position of advantage. They can then use that position of advantage to overpower the unsuspecting officer, or to escape

Other people feel that they must posture, or strike a pose of being tough or macho, either to save face with their peers or to maintain their own self-image. If you maintain your composure and use your Professional Communication Skills, you can provide the subject an opportunity to save face and still voluntarily comply.

Believing the fight-or-flight fallacy undermines effective communication because it only addresses two options for a subject's behavior. Officers must learn to recognize that feigned submission and posturing are possible responses to a situation, and they should be prepared to respond accordingly.

Falling Prey to Presumed Compliance

A somewhat related (and equally wrong) concept is that of presumed compliance. Per this concept, if an officer does everything right, as trained and according to policy, then the subject will comply. The problem is that what the officer does is only one piece of the puzzle. Many other variables affect the outcome of an encounter. People behave as they do for a variety of reasons, not all of which are clear.

You cannot tell from the outside what is going on inside a person’s head. What thoughts or motivations drive his or her behavior? People act based on motives or drives that are complex and mysterious. Even more confusing are the motivations of a person who is emotionally disturbed, under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs, or mentally ill. Such a person does not process information normally and can be very unpredictable.

Presuming compliance because of past history and because you are doing everything right could be a mistake in any escort situation.

Never assume that people will comply just because you did a good job of applying professional communication skills. For a variety of reasons, they may not. On the other hand, using professional communication skills always gives you the best chance of achieving your main goal of voluntary compliance.

Using Jargon

Every profession has words and phrases specific to it that are commonly used by people within that profession. This is true of doctors, lawyers, accountants, and certainly law enforcement and jail officers. These words and phrases are often referred to as “jargon.” For example, here are some common jargon words and phrases used by officers:

Basic Course for Police Officers 4-V.31

Examples:

"I ran a 15 on you.”

“Lawyer up”

"We're going to 9.41 him."

Using jargon can pose a barrier to effective communication because people outside of law enforcement may not understand them.

For example, suppose you encounter a possible suspect and order him to “Freeze!” meaning “Stop!” If the person does not understand the term, and therefore does not stop, you will take it as a refusal, and act accordingly—which could lead to major problems.

Jargon can cause problems even when communicating with other officers. Try to avoid using jargon whenever you are communicating with people who are not law enforcement officials. This will help prevent someone misunderstanding your message.

Actions that Provoke Other People

Saying or doing things that provoke other people can lead to a number of negative effects:

It can escalate negative emotions, such as anger or fear, even to the point of provoking a fight. This could mean that you have to use physical intervention tactics to gain or regain control.

It can negatively affect future contacts or interactions with that person.

It can put other officers at risk. If a subject is angry at you, he or she may take out that anger on other officers. Remember, you always represent law enforcement or corrections in general.

It can lead to citizen complaints and result in negative consequences for you.

It can cause resentment and disrespect toward corrections and law enforcement in general, and toward you as an individual.

It could even cost you your life.

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Some of the more common ways in which officers (often unintentionally) provoke other people include:

Physical actions, such as:

• Facial expressions showing disgust, anger, disapproval, etc.;

• Body postures communicating a sense of superiority, disgust or indifference;

• Gestures such as pointing the “parental” finger or inappropriate touching; or

• Crowding (invading a person’s personal space).

Verbalizations, such as:

• Using profanity;

• Calling people names, particularly using racial or ethnic or sexual epithets or slurs;

• Lecturing people, particularly when using an authoritarian manner or tone of voice;

• Making derogatory or insulting remarks about a person’s personal qualities, intelligence, personal problems, criminal justice system involvement, background, alcohol or drug abuse problems, sexual orientation, and so on;

• Using a sarcastic, hostile, or condescending tone of voice; or

• Giving “parting shots” at the end of a contact, such as little insults, or “digs,” or other remarks which put a person down or are insulting.

None of these are necessary. Indeed, they are unprofessional and disrespectful. Worse, they suggest that the officer is not fully in control of his or her own responses.

Therefore, avoid saying or doing things that provoke other people, so that you foster positive, rather than negative, interactions with them. Remember, your goal as an officer is to generate voluntary compliance with the minimum amount of stress or aggravation or risk of physical injury to yourself, other officers, and citizens.

Reacting to Your Own “Hot Buttons”

Finally, you must be aware of the things that other people do which upset or anger you, and learn to try to control your response. The nature of your job as an officer is that you will have to deal with many people who are difficult, abusive, and sometimes violent.

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You will deal with people who are under the influence of alcohol or drugs, are mentally ill, and emotionally distraught.

You may also deal with people who have had negative experiences with other law enforcement officers.

You will inevitably have confrontations with people who will challenge you, insult you, and otherwise “press your buttons.”

You are expected to speak and act professionally and courteously and do your best to generate voluntary compliance. However, the people with whom you come into contact are under no such obligation, and they will sometimes say things that irritate you and other officers.

You need to be aware of your own “hot buttons” (the things that people may say to you that are most likely to upset you or anger you). These “hot buttons” vary from person to person. They may include the following:

• Racial or ethnic remarks or insults;

• Remarks about your sexual orientation or physical appearance;

• Comments about your intelligence;

• Remarks about your family or other loved ones;

• Threats toward you or your family members;

• Demeaning or insulting remarks about officers;

• Challenges to your authority; or

• Intentional and knowingly provocative statements such as,

Think about what kinds of remarks or insults would be most likely to upset you. Knowing ahead of time where your “hot buttons” are puts you in a better position to control your behavior. You can desensitize yourself and develop the ability to “keep your cool.” When you are the recipient of insults or demeaning remarks, you are in control of how you respond. You always have choices, as you learned earlier in this training. These remarks and insults are purposely said to you to try and get a rise out of you. Realize the person is saying these things to try and make you mad or make you lose your cool. Acceptable options include:

• Listen to the other person's remarks but do not react to them. Just deal with the situation at hand. You can choose not to let yourself be upset and not to respond in a negative way. Sometimes no response is the most effective.

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• Deflect the other person’s remarks with the redirection techniques and phrases that you learned about earlier. These phrases are effective because by acknowledging the other person’s emotions, but not validating them, you can often stop the other person’s outburst long enough to take back control of the contact situation.

Time Constraints

Time constraints can be a barrier to effective communication. Officers may feel too rushed or busy or may simply be unwilling to take the time to resolve a situation.

Try to manage your time so that you can complete necessary tasks without unintentionally sending the message to an inmate or citizen that you don’t care or cannot be bothered. If you always seem rushed or snap in response to a question, you could limit your ability to communicate effectively.

PHYSICAL BARRIERS

Physical barriers to effective communication are just as much a fact of life in law enforcement as are difficult people. Some of the physical barriers include:

1. Telephones

2. Radios

3. Security glass, intercoms, squad cars

4. Email communication (due to shift work, etc.)

5. Environmental factors

Telephones

Talking to someone over the telephone makes effective communication difficult for several reasons:

• You cannot see the other person and he or she cannot see you. Neither of you can assess the other’s non-verbal behavior or give non-verbal feedback. Additionally, it is difficult to assess the context in which the other person is speaking.

• You cannot evaluate physical conditions, level of threat, role of disabilities, and so on, over the phone.

Basic Course for Police Officers 4-V.35

• It is easier to be sarcastic, demeaning or rude over the telephone than it is in- person, because it is less personal. It is also easier for the other person to misinterpret your tone or intent because of the lack of non-verbal feedback.

• There may be a poor connection, background noise, or other deficiencies in the quality of phone service which hamper good communication.

• Use special care to maintain a positive, respectful tone of voice. When answering the telephone at work, always be polite and professional. An excellent phrase to use is:

"Good morning. ______County Sheriff’s Department. Deputy ______speaking. How may I help you?"

This phrase shows politeness and indicates a willingness to help which can be particularly valuable when the person calling is angry or upset about something. If the person answering the phone is polite, respectful and helpful, it helps defuse the anger and sets a positive tone for the interaction.

Make an extra effort to be polite and respectful. Never speak rudely or sarcastically to the other person. Do not fall into the trap of thinking that you are anonymous when talking on the phone.

Be aware that in some situations a face-to-face conversation is more appropriate than a telephone conversation. If you encounter such a situation, you might want to arrange a face-to-face meeting if possible.

Radios

Talking on the radio poses even more of a challenge than talking on the telephone. As with the telephone, you have no opportunity for non-verbal feedback.

You cannot see the other person's facial expressions, body language, and so on. Even more often than with the telephone, the transmission quality may be poor.

Unlike the telephone, however, radio has some problems unique to the medium:

Radio traffic is inherently short and not intended to include detailed discourse. With less opportunity for explanation, there is more opportunity for confusion.

To minimize problems caused by radio use, observe the following guidelines:

• Key the microphone for one second before talking and keep it keyed for one second after you have finished.

• Always speak slowly, clearly, and distinctly.

• Keep the microphone close to your mouth until you are done talking.

Basic Course for Police Officers 4-V.36

• Use proper radio procedures as taught by your agency.

• If you don’t understand something, request clarification.

In addition, remember that you must never say anything inappropriate or unprofessional over the radio. This includes comments that could be interpreted as racist, sexist, or otherwise demeaning, insulting or insensitive.

Do not make jokes. Always assume that others are listening in, and that anything you say, no matter your intent, could come back to haunt you. Citizens and members of the media listen in on police radio broadcasts.

Remember, the answer to the question “Who is listening?” is everyone.

Security Glass, Intercoms, Squad Cars

Actual physical barriers such as security glass, intercoms, squad cars, and so on, do interfere with effective communication.

These barriers can interfere with communication for the following reasons:

They can make it difficult to hear. The parties may have to talk louder than desired, while around other people. This can be awkward and even embarrassing.

Like the telephone and radio, they make communication less personal. If you cannot see the other person (as with an intercom), you cannot see and assess non-verbal feedback.

A partitioned squad car and a glass enclosed control room create not only physical barriers, but also psychological barriers because they are such symbols of power and authority.

As with the other physical barriers, always be as polite and respectful as you would when talking in person. Do not allow the barrier to serve as an excuse for being rude or abrupt.

Always speak slowly, clearly and distinctly so that others can understand you. Additionally, if the discussion is sensitive or better handled in person, try to arrange to talk face to face.

Email Communication Due to Shift Work4

Since law enforcement is a twenty-four hour a day job, many officers must use email as their main source of communication with others due to shift work. Many officers send

4 Emailreplies.com (2008) Email Etiquette retrieved from http://www.emailreplies.com/ on August 10, 2010 and eHow (n.d.) How to Use Proper Email Etiquette at Work retrieved from http://www.ehow.com/how_2293051_ use-proper-email-etiquette-work.html on August 10, 2010. NYS Division of Criminal Justice Services, Office of Public Safety: Copyright 2017 (September 2017)

Basic Course for Police Officers 4-V.37 email replies late or not at all, or send replies that do not actually answer the questions that are asked.

Furthermore, agencies need to educate officers as to what can and cannot be said in an email. This will protect the agency, and officers, from awkward liability issues.

Officers should use the following basic rules because by using proper email language your agency will convey a professional image, emails that get to the point are much more effective than poorly worded emails, and officer awareness of email risks will protect the agency.

The following are some basic etiquette rules and guidelines for using email.

Begin each email with a greeting. No matter how pressed for time you are, a simple greeting such as “Good morning X,” “Hello,” or “Dear X,” is good etiquette. Otherwise, if you launch into your email without a greeting or introduction you run the risk of seeming impolite or impatient.

Take the time to ensure your subject line accurately reflects the contents and nature of your email. This will go a long way to ensure that your email gets the attention and consideration it deserves.

Be as concise as possible. Your recipients will appreciate it if you keep your email short, sweet and to the point, and you will also increase your chance of getting a timely reply. A long email can be very discouraging to read.

Ask permission before forwarding another person’s email correspondence. Even if you are confident that the other person will not mind if you forward their email to someone else, it is good etiquette to check first so you do not run the risk of violating their trust.

Reply to emails in a timely fashion. If you know in advance that you cannot give an email the attention it deserves at the moment, give the sender a quick heads-up that you have received their email but have not had time to review it yet.

Use proper spelling, grammar and punctuation. Improper spelling, grammar and punctuation give a bad impression of you and your agency, it is also important in conveying the message properly. Do not type emails without punctuation or without starting sentences with capital letters. Emails with no full stops or comas are difficult to read and can sometimes even change the meaning of the text. And, if your computer program has spell check, why not use it?

Avoid using abbreviations such as BTW (by the way) and LOL (laugh out loud). The recipient might not be aware of the meanings of the abbreviations and in business emails these are generally not appropriate. The same goes for emoticons, such as smiley :-). If you are not sure whether your recipient knows what it means, it is better not to use it.

Do not write in all CAPITALS. Writing in capitals in an email constitutes yelling or demanding something from someone. NYS Division of Criminal Justice Services, Office of Public Safety: Copyright 2017 (September 2017)

Basic Course for Police Officers 4-V.38

Read the email before you send it to ensure it makes sense and does not contain typos. Apart from this, reading your email through the eyes of the recipient will help you send a more effective message and avoid misunderstandings and inappropriate comments.

Send personal emails from your non-work account. Sending personal emails from work is generally “frowned upon” in business, but occasionally we all need to send a personal email during work hours. In this instance, use a web-based email account such as Yahoo or Hotmail. Check your agency policy for personal use of the work computer.

Do not send or forward emails containing libelous, defamatory, offensive, racist or obscene remarks or content.

Remember that your work email, both the address and all correspondence, is the property of the agency you work for. Anything you have ever sent or received, even if you have deleted it, could potentially be retrieved from the system by a database administrator at any time.

Environmental Factors

Noise in the environment can also pose obstacles to effective communication. Outdoor noise-related factors may include weather, a construction area, heavy traffic, an airport area, and so on.

Indoor factors may include a television, loud bars, and other noisy areas. If possible, take the conversation to a quieter area. Sometimes that is not an option, in which case your only choice is to talk more loudly.

Take extra care to be sure that the other person understands what you are saying; if necessary, ask the person to repeat key information back to you.

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INTERPERSONAL BARRIERS

Some barriers are not tangible, but they can be every bit as difficult as physical barriers. These barriers result from differences between people that affect their perspectives and interfere with understanding. These include the following:

1. Cultural barriers, including language, different expectations for body language and eye contact, and different views of authority figures

2. Gender or sexual orientation differences

3. Generational or age-related differences

4. Physical disabilities and medical problems

5. Alcohol and/or substance abuse intoxication/impairment

6. Developmental or cognitive barriers

7. Mental disorders

Being aware of some of the communication barriers that you are likely to encounter may help you to understand why an interaction is difficult or problematic. Applying the skills taught in this course will enable you to deal effectively with them.

Questions for Discussion:

1. How might an angry citizen “bait” an officer? Why would they do that? What principles should the officer keep in mind to maintain control of the situation?

2. Recall a time when you felt mistreated. List the emotions you remember feeling at the time. How did those emotions affect your thinking and behavior? How might they affect a crime victim trying to cooperate with a police investigation?

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Objective #6: The suggested “do’s and don’ts” regarding de-escalation.

A. Do’s:

1. Using the person’s name.

2. Asking “May I help you?”

3. Speaking slowly.

4. Use restatement for clarification.

5. Asking to take notes.

6. Paraphrase.

7. Using “what” and “we.”

8. Allowing time for reflection.

9. Giving options.

10. Asking for their idea or solution.

11. Using simple words. B. Don’ts:

1. Don’t allow long waits.

2. Don’t fake attention.

3. Don’t roll your eyes.

4. Don’t make false promises.

5. Don’t use jargon.

6. Don’t agree with someone – take their side.

7. Don’t cut people off.

8. Don’t get in a power struggle.

9. Don’t raise your voice to outshout the subject.

10. Don’t fail to document.

11. Don’t lose temper.

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12. Don’t allow more than one person to talk.

13. Don’t argue.

14. Don’t say “calm down.”

15. Maintaining 70-percent eye contact during interactions.

Objective #7: “Contact and Cover” relates directly to officer safety and communication

Contact and Cover defined: Contact and Cover is a concept and tactic related to officer safety that when employed minimizes distraction during contacts with others while maximizing officer safety.

Contact and Cover requires a minimum of two officers for the concept to be function.

The Contact Officer conducts the “business” aspect of the law enforcement encounter, such as interviews, statements, etc.

The Cover Officer(s) is responsible for environmental and personal safety.

Shared Responsibility:

1. As an officer, you are part of a team. This means that you share responsibility for the way that incidents are handled and for the outcomes of incidents.

2. When you are working with other officers in any situation involving contact with citizens, you share responsibility with them for what happens during that contact, for better or worse.

This includes verbal communication. In other words, if another officer makes an inappropriate statement, you share the responsibility.

Contact Officer Override

In this mode, one officer serves as the contact officer (making actual contact with a subject) while another officer (or more than one) serves as a cover officer (observing to ensure that all goes well and ready to intervene if necessary).

Contact officer override is a corollary of the concept of shared responsibility. It means that cover officers have the proactive responsibility to intervene in a situation if the contact officer behaves inappropriately, or is otherwise not handling the situation effectively. One of the ways in which a contact officer might behave inappropriately is through verbal communication to a subject. Inappropriate communication might involve unwarranted anger, use of profanity, threats, or other unacceptable and unprofessional

Basic Course for Police Officers 4-V.42 responses. In other words, there are no innocent bystanders. As professionals, we are responsible for each other.

In such a situation, the cover officer must intervene and override the contact officer. The cover officer might do so by stopping the contact officer from his/her behavior, taking the contact officer aside to talk to him or her, taking over the contact officer’s role, and so on. Sometimes the cover officer may simply need to step in and take over for the contact officer because the contact officer is not being effective or is not getting through to the subject.

Because officers share responsibility for what happens during incidents and for their outcome, cover officers must sometimes step out of their normal role of providing backup and support and override the contact officer even when outranked

Objective # 8: Signals of Understanding and Compliance

Knowing from the earlier instruction on Stages of Anxiety, that every encounter produces a certain level of nervousness, uncertainty and stress, if the officers have applied active listening and overserved non-verbal behavior then they should see the following take place:

1. The individual’s voice is steady and the pitch has returned to normal. 2. The individual’s body language is relaxed 3. A rapport has been established and the individual is understanding what is being asked of him/her 4. Information is being offered for the request that has been made

Objective # 9: Demonstrate professional communication skills (Scenario Based)

Using the following scenarios and/or additional scenarios developed by academy staff, instructor(s) will evaluate the students’ (contact and cover officer should be utilized) understanding of the learning objectives and provide a verbal critique during and after each scenario. The purpose of these scenarios is to begin to build foundational communication skills and not to focus on defensive tactics and use of force issues. Those specific skills will be furthered developed during other sections of the course.

Remind the students that the exercises are meant to elicit a variety of responses—not just one “right” response. It is the student's thought process and articulation of that thought process that is evaluated as well as the performance of the action.

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Scenario #1: The officer is to be dispatched to a neighborhood disturbance. Upon arriving, the officer should see two men arguing loudly in the middle of the street. The argument is getting louder and drawing the attention of neighbors. Both men will tell the responding officer(s) that they have no business in their neighborhood and that they will settle the problem themselves. The officer(s) must now use their communication skills to peacefully bring the argument to a resolution.

Scenario #2: The officer(s) are dispatched to a neighborhood dispute. Two neighbors are arguing about a privacy fence. One man tells the responding officer(s) that the fence has been illegally erected on two feet of his property. The officer(s) must use communication skills to mediate and allow the neighbors to work out their own solution.

Scenario #3: The officer(s) are dispatched to a downtown intersection where two men are arguing about money owed to one another. Neither man seems interested in physically fighting the other but want the officer(s) to arrest the other. The officer(s) should navigate the situation using communication skills and explain this is a civil matter.

Scenario #4: The officer(s) is dispatched to a call of person who is visibly upset. When he sees the responding officer(s) he calls an officer by a name thinking the officer is the same one who gave him a speeding ticket. He threatens to "kick the officer’s ass" because he believes he was given a speeding ticket by the officer. No matter how much the officer explains he is not the same officer, the individual will not let it go until the cover officer overrides. Although either officer has never encountered this person before, the officers must use communication skills and contact officer override to calm the person down regarding the misidentification and determine what the real issue is as to why he is so upset.

Scenario #5: The officer is dispatched to a private home to investigate a reported burglary. A woman invites the officer in and begins to tell the officer(s) what happened. Her husband enters the room, stands in front of her and starts speaking over her saying, if the police patrolled the neighborhoods like they should be doing their home wouldn’t have been burglarized. He continues to be opinionated about the lack of police services he receives for the high amount of taxes he pays. The wife of the slightly irritated husband tries to get a word in to provide the officer(s) details of the incident but can’t as the husband continues to speak over her. She is the one who can provide the details since she arrived home before he did and noticed someone leaving out the back of the house. The officer(s) must use their communication skills with the husband to give the wife an opportunity to explain what she saw in order to take a report.

APPENDIX F- Diversity Training

Village of Malone Police Reform Plan Page 30 of 30 Basic Course for Police Officers 5-D.1

CULTURAL DIVERSITY BIAS RELATED INCIDENTS AND SEXUAL HARASSMENT

PART 5 SECTION D (5 HOURS)

TOPIC DESCRIPTION

Instruction and discussion is intended to develop awareness about cultural diversity, prejudice, discrimination, sexual harassment, biased policing and bias related (hate) incidents.

INSTRUCTOR QUALIFICATIONS

If a school director believes an individual who is not certified is otherwise qualified for teaching this topic, they may ask in writing for approval for that person to teach. The Office of Public Safety may, if finding the individual possesses a combination of an advanced degree and unique or qualifying experience, find the individual to be qualified and be approved to instruct. Those that are found qualified, are listed as approved instructors, and will have a letter issued to them indicating what they are approved to instruct in. The school director should keep a copy of the letter in the school file.

School directors should understand the Office of Public Safety can only examine complete applications for instructors that are filed in a timely manner. Generally, this instructor approval often requires time that is in addition to the requirements (45 days by the State Regulation and the Municipal Police Training Council) for police training approval. This time allows for proper review of curriculum, instructors, and the needs for training in a zone. Complete applications are those which include a properly completed Instructor Personal History Form, and documents supporting the facts contained therein.

TRAINING OBJECTIVES

Upon completion of instruction the student will be able to:

1. Identify strategies which increase the effectiveness of contacts between officers and individuals from other cultural backgrounds.

2. Explain and define terminology used to describe sexual orientation and gender identity.

3. Identify the eight areas and related behaviors which can constitute sexual harassment.

4. Identify the possible ramifications of engaging in behavior which constitutes sexual harassment.

5. Define and identify the characteristics (indicators) of a “hate crime.”

6. Identify the proper procedures for handling a hate crime.

7. Define and identify the characteristics (indicators) of biased policing.

CURRICULUM OUTLINE

I The Cultural Makeup Of New York

A. What is culture?

1. Culture can be defined as the total “life way” of a people, a design for living and for coping with a particular society’s perceived environment. It is a complete and more or less successful adaptive system.

2. “Culturally diverse” and “cultural diversity” can mean members of all racial and cultural groups and specifically include gender and sexual orientation.

B. How culture works.

1. Cultural/ethnic identify is an issue of pride.

a. The deep feelings related to shared beliefs, values, and customs.

b. The historical, cultural “roots” of people -- their consciousness.

c. The renewal and affirmation of a particular cultural identify amidst cultural pluralism.

2. Culture is a coping system.

a. It is an explanation system. It organizes our world into manageable, meaningful parts.

b. Culture defines behavior and establishes a social “comfort zone.”

c. Culture presents us with cultural “cues” -- common ground which allows for effective communication.

d. Culture gives us survival skills to manage difficult situations and manage stress.

3. Culture is an “idea map.”

a. Culture provides a map of a people.

b. The map shows where people “are headed” and their probable reactions.

c. Culture includes groups ideas, beliefs, core values and behavior.

d. Core values become keys to persuasion.

C. New York’s past.

NOTE: Instructors should identify and discuss the historical influences of the numerous cultural groups who have impacted New York’s history. Although some groups are predominant, the reality is that a vast number of groups have shaped the character of New York State.

1. Identification of groups.

2. Contribution/impact of the groups.

D. New York’s present.

1. Cultural mapping of New York State.

a. Predominant cultural groups.

b. Current statistics.

c. Language profiles.

2. Transitions from past to present.

a. Changes in ethnic distribution in a given geographical area traditionally occupied by one group.

b. Changes in worker distribution occupying certain positions traditionally held by another ethnic group.

c. Increasing reflection of the social and economic conflicts, rather than biological aspects of race.

3. Emerging generational diversity.

a. There will often be significant differences in experiences, values, and language dependency between members of the same ethnic group who were born in this country versus those who immigrated.

E. New York’s future.

1. Demographic shifts.

a. Today’s minority is becoming tomorrow’s majority.

2. Shift in political influence.

a. Increased representation in political office.

3. Economic realities.

a. Historically, minority groups have been disproportionately affected by rising unemployment or underemployment.

b. With the increase of unemployment, service demands of public safety and law enforcement increase.

F. Changing law enforcement service demands create a greater need for personnel to:

1. Intervene in conflicts between cultural groups.

2. Communicate effectively with cultural groups.

3. Develop positive relationships with cultural groups.

4. Become integrated with the community they serve.

G. Changing law enforcement workforce.

1. The typical law enforcement agency is becoming more culturally diverse because it is a reflection of the community it serves.

II The Benefits of Valuing Diversity

A. The professional benefits of valuing diversity both within the law enforcement organization and within the community it serves include the following:

1. Professional benefits.

a. Enhanced community support and improved public trust as the result of a positive relationship with the community served by the law enforcement organization.

b. Improved quality of service provided.

c. Reduced tension between law enforcement and specific cultural groups.

d. Increased access to cultural communities.

e. Ensured compliance with the letter and the spirit of the law.

a. Reduction of personal and agency exposure to claims and litigation.

b. Improved morale, effectiveness, and professionalism within the department.

c. Positive impact on the image of law enforcement.

d. Reduction in the number of discourtesy complaints.

3. Personal benefits.

a. Positive impact on officer safety.

b. Career survival.

c. Ethical satisfaction.

III Human Rights, Prejudice and Discrimination

A. Evolution of human rights in the United States.

1. Constitutional tolerance of slavery (three-fifths of a person provision in Article 1).

2. Removal of Native Americans from their lands to reservations.

3. Introduction of the concept “separate but equal” - legal segregation of cultural groups.

4. Internment of American citizens of Japanese descent.

5. Emergence of equal opportunity laws.

6. Passage of civil rights legislation.

7. Expansion of the human rights umbrella beyond ethno-cultural groups to:

a. Physically challenged (e.g., Americans with Disabilities Act).

b. Sexual orientation.

8. Evolution to an era of valuing diversity.

B. Cultural groups may have experienced a variety of problems, controls, or denial of rights in their native countries.

NYS Division of Criminal Justice Services, Office of Public Safety: Copyright 2018 (December 2018) Basic Course for Police Officers 5-D.7 1. Repression of groups within their own country as a result of:

a. War conditions (e.g., Vietnam, El Salvador).

b. Martial law (e.g., Philippines).

c. Economic conditions (e.g., Russia, Mexico).

d. Political repression (e.g., Cuba, South Africa, Haiti).

2. Repression of groups by law enforcement within their own country.

a. Incarceration because of a political viewpoint.

b. Feeling that law enforcement has to be bribed in order to obtain service or avoid enforcement.

NOTE: Instructor should highlight any specific examples from their own areas.

C. Prejudice.

1. Defined as:

a. A point of view.

b. A prejudgment about a person or class of persons composed of opinion or bias.

c. Socially learned, and usually grounded in misconceptions, misunderstandings, and inflexible generalizations.

2. A common misunderstanding of prejudice and what can be done about it goes something like this: Prejudice is prejudging people. Therefore, effective counteraction involves learning about human differences and fostering opportunities for intergroup interaction.

3. This common concept is a best simplistic and offers only limited prospects for overcoming prejudice. More helpful is to see the process of prejudice:

a. Prejudice is the result of psychological filtering and screening which every person uses all the time. It is not a static attitude.

4. Each person develops convenient and effective systems for simplifying and ordering the large amount of information and stimuli received daily. The systems help persons in making decisions, determining preferences, and selecting courses of

D. Discrimination.

1. Discrimination defined.

a. Discrimination is an action or behavior.

b. Discrimination is differential treatment based on unfair categorization.

c. It is denial of justice prompted by prejudice.

d. When we act on our prejudices, we engage in discrimination.

e. Discrimination often involves keeping people out of activities or places because of the group to which they belong.

E. Differences between prejudice and discrimination.

1. Because prejudice is a point of view it is difficult, if not impossible, to regulate.

2. Discrimination is, however, a behavior or an action which can be addressed in law.

IV Perceptions of Cultural Groups

A. Recent events can shape the perceptions of cultural groups regarding government and regarding law enforcement in particular.

1. Local, regional or national events.

a. Civil unrest in recent years in cities around the United States. Several events contributed to the situation including:

(1) Michael Brown – Ferguson, Missouri.

(2) Eric Garner -New York City, New York.

(3) Pre-existing tensions among cultural groups.

(4) Media coverage.

2. International events.

a. War on Terror (negative feelings toward /Muslims).

NYS Division of Criminal Justice Services, Office of Public Safety: Copyright 2018 (December 2018) Basic Course for Police Officers 5-D.9 b. Hostage situation in Iran (negative feelings toward Iranians/Arabs).

3. Media coverage of current events.

a. “Instant” access to information.

b. One small event can be instantly communicated worldwide and the magnitude of an event can be distorted.

c. The media can distort reality (accidentally or deliberately).

(1) Mainstream newspapers, radio, television, magazines may “sensationalize” their reports.

d. Social Media

(1) Plays a large role in today’s media coverage

NOTE: Instructors are encouraged, when possible, to use local examples including video clips obtained from local news stations.

B. Why is it also important to understand the historical experience of a given cultural group?

1. Past experience of cultural group members shapes their attitude and expectations regarding governmental authority including the role of law enforcement.

a. The group may have experienced direct repression by law enforcement.

b. The group may have experienced law enforcement being controlled by and servicing only special interest groups.

NOTE: Relationships among cultural groups are very dynamic. Demographic shifts in communities, unstable political situations in homelands, economic opportunity conflicts, and other factors can cause significant intergroup conflict. Instructors may wish to cite local examples as a means of underscoring the relevancy of the curricula.

V Cultural Stereotyping Versus Profiling

A. Implicit Bias

B. Stereotypes – generalizations about the perceived “typical” characteristics social category (i.e., cognitive component)

2. Stereotypes do not necessarily have to have a negative connotation, as social scientists point out that it is just a way for our brain to quickly sort people into recognizable groups

C. Two types of bias

1. Explicit bias and implicit bias – common characteristics

a. Everyone possesses them.

b. They have real-world effects on behavior

c. They can relate, for example, to race, religion, gender, sexuality, disability, height, weight, or age

2. Explicit bias – conscious preference (positive or negative) for a social category

3. Implicit bias – preference (positive or negative) for a social category based on stereotypes or attitudes that we hold and tend to develop early in life and that operate outside of our awareness

4. Implicit biases are related to explicit biases, but they are still distinct concepts

a. While the two types of biases may reinforce each other … Implicit biases can be dissociated from explicit biases – our implicit biases do not necessarily align with our explicit beliefs (i.e., you may firmly support equality for all races and ethnicities, and even champion that cause, yet still have unconscious biases against certain races or ethnicities)

b. Implicit biases are largely hidden from us, but their effects are pervasive and powerful

c. Understanding implicit biases is important because they have the potential to impact our interactions and efforts to effectively use procedural justice tactics to promote police legitimacy

D. Instructors are encouraged to involve the students in a classroom discussion to identify typical stereotypes regarding a variety of groups, such as:

1. African-American.

2. Mexican-American.

3. Asian-American.

4. Anglo.

5. Native-American.

6. Law enforcement

7. Gay and lesbian.

8. Gender.

NOTE: The intention of this block is for the instructor to have the class identify commonly held cultural stereotypes. The discussion should include information as to where some of the stereotypes might have originated.

E. LBGTQ terms and definitions

1. LGBTQ stand for: Lesbian, Bisexual, Gay, Transgender and Queer

a. Here are some terms and definitions that will help recruits when interacting with this community group

b. Gender: The wide set of characteristics that are constructed to distinguish between the two institutionally recognized sexes: male and female. Gender is not static and can shift over time. Gender has at least three parts:

(1) Physical Markers – Aspects of the human body that are considered to determine sex and/or gender for a given culture or society, including genitalia, chromosomes, hormones, secondary sex characteristics, and internal reproductive organs.

(2) Expression – Aspects of behavior and outward presentation that may (intentionally or unintentionally) communicate gender to others in a given culture or society, including clothing, body language, hairstyles, socialization, relationships, career choices, interests, and presence in gendered spaces (restrooms, places of worship, etc).

(3) Gender Identity – An individual’s internal view of their gender. One’s own innermost sense of themselves as a gendered being and/or as masculine, feminine, androgynous, etc. This will often influence name and pronoun preference for an individual.

c. Transgender: A term used broadly that refers primarily to individuals who identify differently from the sex assigned at birth or a term used by people for whom the sex they were assigned at birth is an incomplete or incorrect description of themselves. The term “genderqueer” has the same basic meaning but is used somewhat more loosely.

(1) Transman – Typically refers to an individual assigned as female at birth who at some point, starts to identify in a more male-oriented way or as a man.

(2) Transwoman – Typically refers to an individual assigned as male at birth who at some point, starts to identify in a more female-oriented way or as a woman.

(3) Intersex: A term referring to people who have physical markers that differ from the medical definitions of male or female. Most commonly, it is used to speak about people whose genitalia is not easily classifiable as „male‟ or „female‟ at birth but it can be used to refer to any biological marker that falls outside medical norms for masculine and feminine.

d. Gay: Most frequently used by male-identified people who experience attraction primarily or exclusively for other male- identified people.

e. Lesbian: Most frequently used by female-identified people who experience attraction primarily or exclusively for other female-identified people.

f. Bisexual: A term used to indicate attraction or potential for attraction to more than one gender.

g. Pansexual: A term used to indicate attraction or potential for attraction to any gender, preferred by some over „bisexual‟ because it does not imply the existence of only two genders.

h. Queer: A political and sometimes controversial term that some LGBT people have reclaimed, while others consider it derogatory. Used more frequently by activists, academics, and some younger LGBT people, the term can refer either to gender identity, sexual orientation, or both and can be used by any gender.

i. A note on gender pronouns: People tend to refer to someone as either „he‟ or „she‟ based on physical appearance. Like names, pronouns are identity terms that can be chosen or

NYS Division of Criminal Justice Services, Office of Public Safety: Copyright 2018 (December 2018) Basic Course for Police Officers 5-D.13 rejected. A person can identify as „he‟, „she‟ or both, or another pronoun altogether. When an individual voices a pronoun preference, it is considered basic respect to use the preferred gender-language consistently.

F. Law enforcement profiling.

1. Profiling criteria.

a. Knowledge-based information.

b. A set of articulatable facts.

2. Biased policing is the exercise of police authority to seize or detain an individual solely upon an individual’s race, ethnic origin, religion, gender, age, sexual orientation, or income status.

3. The public may often perceive profiling as biased policing. It is important to distinguish that there are significant and important differences between the two (e.g. profiling can be defended as being based upon facts known to the officer). No person should be singled out or otherwise treated differently solely on account of race, ethnic origin, gender, age, religion, sexual orientation, or income status.

4. It is important to recognize that although a member of a cultural group may fit a defensible profile, the officer should consider the long and short term community impact which may result from his or her actions.

VI Strategies for Effective Cultural Contacts

A. The most reliable strategy for successful public contacts is to treat all individuals and groups with dignity and respect.

B. Effective communication techniques must be employed during any public contact. These include:

1. Patience.

2. Effective listening.

3. Clear, concise message.

4. Testing for understanding.

5. Effective nonverbal communication.

C. Verbal communications factors which contribute to a negative response from the public must be avoided. Examples include:

1. Profanity.

a. Not to be used.

b. Negative effect on the professional image of the officer.

2. Derogatory language.

a. Detracts from professional effectiveness.

b. Generates complaints.

c. Makes people reluctant to cooperate.

3. Ethnically-offensive terminology.

a. “Turns people off.”

b. Demonstrates a lack of ethnic awareness.

c. Demonstrates a lack of sensitivity for the feelings of others.

4. Use of law enforcement jargon.

a. Any use of jargon with the public is inappropriate.

b. The public does not understand jargon.

c. Use of jargon can confuse and demean.

D. Nonverbal communication factors which contribute to a negative response from the public must be avoided. Examples include:

1. Officious and oppressive manner.

a. Overbearing demeanor.

b. Using the badge to accomplish tasks.

c. Discouraging feedback.

2. Disrespectful attitude.

a. Lack of understanding.

b. Lack of sympathy.

c. No cultural awareness.

3. Officious tone of voice.

a. Not necessary to control a situation.

b. May be manifestation of insecurity or immaturity.

4. Inappropriate body language.

a. Nonverbal cues.

b. Failing to establish a positive first impression.

c. General demeanor.

d. Inappropriate body distance.

NOTE: Although negative aspects are listed above, the instructor may wish to point out the positive aspects of effective nonverbal communications.

E. Effective contacts with cultural groups.

1. The potential for a successful cultural contact is enhanced by the officer’s level of knowledge concerning the following information:

a. History of the group.

b. Group customs.

c. Religious conventions.

d. Core values.

e. Language.

f. Group’s attitude toward law enforcement.

2. Effective cultural contacts cannot be reduced to a “recipe style” approach for the following reasons:

a. Generalizations can be proven erroneous.

b. Varying dimensions of diversity can exist among members of the same cultural group. These can include:

(1) Generational differences (first, second, third generations).

(3) Educational differences.

(4) Religious differences.

(5) Work background differences.

(6) Age differences (younger-older).

(7) Disabilities (physical or developmental).

3. It will be valuable for the officer to understand how law enforcement and individual officers are perceived by the cultural group.

a. May be viewed as being repressive or brutal.

b. May be viewed as being corrupt or unprofessional.

c. May be viewed as being responsive and protective.

4. It will be valuable for the officer to recognize any personal preconceptions that exist regarding a cultural contact or a particular cultural group. These may include:

a. Varying levels of fear or apprehension concerning the contact.

b. Personal prejudices.

c. Levels of experience in dealing with the cultural group.

d. Amount of prior training.

e. Negative experiences.

(1) Personal assault by a member of a particular cultural group.

(2) Negative locker room talk or negative interpersonal relationships with peers.

(3) Negative stereotypes.

f. Positive experiences:

(1) Positive association(s) with a co-worker who belongs to a given cultural group.

(2) Successful work with a community group.

NYS Division of Criminal Justice Services, Office of Public Safety: Copyright 2018 (December 2018) Basic Course for Police Officers 5-D.17 (3) Positive peer communication (e.g., sharing a positive experience).

(4) Positive characterizations.

5. It is valuable for the officer to understand that cultural groups will differ in their opinion as to the “legality” of specific acts and behaviors or the authority of law enforcement to intervene. Examples could include:

a. A given cultural group may believe that (substantive) corporal punishment to a child is a permissible and appropriate form of parental discipline.

b. A given cultural group may believe that forcible rape of a young woman by a young male member of the group constitutes an acceptable way to “claim” a potential bride.

c. A given cultural group may believe that criminal victimization should not be reported to the police, but should be handled strictly “within the group” or as a “family matter.”

6. Stereotyping must be avoided.

7. Officers should capitalize on the availability of language lines and translator services.

8. Officers should capitalize on opportunities to interrelate with cultural groups in a non-enforcement capacity by:

a. Spending time in the community getting to know the people.

b. Establishing cultural building blocks between the officer and the cultural group.

9. Fluency in the language of a given cultural group is an obvious advantage in prompting a successful contact.

10. Participation in training opportunities (e.g., instruction regarding group history, customs, religious conventions, core values, and perceptions of law enforcement will all prove beneficial).

VII History and Nature of Sexual Harassment

A. Causes of sexual harassment.

1. Gender issues (response differs by gender because of socialization).

a. Male messages.

(2) Decision maker.

(3) Protector/Provider.

b. Female messages.

(1) Cooperate to avoid conflict.

(2) Nurturing and responsibility for emotional care of family, pregnancy, childcare.

c. Extension to the law enforcement culture.

(1) Changing role expectations.

(2) Fear that women are competing for jobs traditionally thought of as men’s jobs.

(3) Confusion about the boundaries of proper conduct because of differences among work setting, social setting, and cultural factors.

(4) Sexual jokes, touching, or other inappropriate behavior meant to show acceptance.

2. Power issues.

a. Using position to request date or sex.

b. Exclusion from work activities.

c. Subservient status.

d. Insensitive interruptions.

e. Failure to remove harasser from the situation after it is reported.

B. Why is sexual harassment wrong?

1. Disrespect.

2. Counterproductive.

3. Illegal.

VIII Legal Aspects of Sexual Harassment

B. Federal Laws.

C. What constitutes sexual harassment under the law?

1. Unwelcome sexual conduct.

a. Physical.

b. Verbal.

c. Written.

d. Visual.

e. Others.

2. Quid Pro Quo.

a. Submission or rejection of sexual conduct which is explicitly or implicitly made a term or condition of employment or an employment decision.

(1) Assignment.

(2) Promotion.

(3) Others.

3. Hostile work environment.

a. Sexually harassing conduct, within the complainants immediate work environment, which is so pervasive as to interfere with his or her work performance.

b. Such conduct may or may not be directed at the complainant.

4. Retaliation.

a. Adverse action against the complainant.

b. Adverse action against witnesses.

D. False claims.

IX Understanding Sexual Harassment

A. Examples of sexual harassment.

a. Repeated, unsolicited, derogatory comments or slurs.

b. Continued requests for social or sexual contact after being advised that such is unwelcome (e..g., repeated phone calls).

c. Discussing sexual exploits.

d. Sexually patronizing comments (“Honey,” “Babe,” “Doll”).

e. Commenting on body parts.

f. Telling vulgar sexist jokes.

g. Making obscene or suggestive sounds or gestures.

h. Questions or comments about a person’s sexual practices.

i. Requesting employees wear sexually suggestive or demeaning clothing.

2. Physical harassment.

a. Physical interference or contact which impedes normal movement when directed at an individual.

b. Unwelcome touching (e.g., back rubs, brushing up against an individual, hugging, patting, kissing, and grabbing body parts).

3. Visual harassment.

a. Sexually offensive computer software, posters, cartoons, drawings, magazines, or objects.

b. Staring or leering.

c. Sexual gestures.

4. Writings.

a. Unwelcome notes.

b. Greeting cards.

c. Love letters.

d. Invitations.

5. Sexual favors.

a. Quid Pro Quo.

(1) Actual or perceived requests for sexual favors in exchange for employment benefits.

(2) Such may include, but are not limited to: offers of job assignments and promotions.

b. Request for sexual favors without threat to employment benefits.

6. Hostile work environment.

a. Any behavior or activity which discriminates by gender or sexual orientation.

b. Any of the above examples which are not directed toward the complainant but which the complainant is subjected to in his or her immediate work environment.

c. Any of the above examples which are directed toward the complainant and are ongoing and pervasive.

7. Threats.

a. Failure/refusal to provide timely backup.

b. Loss of assignment.

c. Loss of job status.

8. Force.

a. Physical assault.

X Responding to Sexual Harassment

A. Recipients of perceived sexual harassment, when appropriate, should inform the harasser that the conduct is unwelcome, offensive, and should cease.

1. Where the complainant is uncomfortable with a personal confrontation, he/she should contact any supervisor, manager, department head, or their equivalent.

2. Where the complainant perceives that the department’s internal

NYS Division of Criminal Justice Services, Office of Public Safety: Copyright 2018 (December 2018) Basic Course for Police Officers 5-D.22 environment is not conducive to making an internal complaint, they have the option of reporting the incident to an entity external to the department.

a. Organization/Agency Administration.

b. State Agency.

c. Federal Agency.

NOTE: Many organizations are beginning to adopt “zero tolerance” policies regarding sexual harassment. In essence, this means that the organization will not tolerate any type of behaviors which could constitute sexual harassment under the law or which could contribute to an unprofessional business atmosphere.

3. Supervisory/Management responsibilities.

a. Reactive.

(1) Listen to the complaint.

(2) Provide counsel regarding options.

(3) Document the complaint.

NOTE: Instructors should discuss what comprises “documentation.”

(4) Appropriate investigative actions.

NOTE: Instructor should discuss typical investigative actions which would occur (e.g., interviews of involved persons).

b. Pro-active.

(1) Acting when inappropriate behaviors before a complainant comes forward.

(2) On-going training of subordinates.

4. Ramifications for the offender.

a. Disciplinary action from verbal reprimand through termination.

b. Civil suit.

c. Criminal penalties.

e. Negative impact on career, family, credibility, reputation, etc.

5. Protection from retaliation.

a. Illegality of retaliation under the law.

b. Protection of complainants and Witnesses.

XI The Impact Of Hate (Bias Related)

A. The changing demographics of New York State has resulted in an increase in intergroup conflicts. This has resulted in an increase of hate/bias crimes. Hate violence has occurred throughout the state and has affected nearly every social group. In addition to the effects these crimes have upon individual victims, they also cause:

1. Distrust between groups.

2. Disharmony among communities.

3. Tension between the community and public safety/law enforcement when incidents are not handled appropriately, thoroughly, or in a timely manner.

B. Hate crimes have a devastating effect on victims, victim’s families, and communities. Incidents often occur in neighborhoods, places of worship, schools, the victim’s workplace, or other locations where the victim has established personal ties.

1. Hate crimes are civil rights violations.

2. Hate crimes are terrorist acts.

C. Among the effects of hate crimes on victims are:

1. Strong emotional reactions including:

a. Bitterness.

b. Helplessness/frustration.

(1) Inability to affect the circumstances that led to their victimization.

(2) Feeling that they may not be able to report their victimization because they do not want to reveal

information such as immigration status, sexual orientation, etc.

c. Anger.

d. Fear.

(1) About future incidents.

(2) About the safety of children and other family members.

2. Strong psychological effects.

a. Prolonged emotional trauma.

b. Particularly strong impact upon child victims.

3. Intimidation of other members of the same social group.

D. Law enforcement responses to hate crimes.

1. A primary responsibility of any officer responding to a suspected hate crime is to provide assistance and appropriate support to victims.

2. A thorough preliminary investigation should be conducted in an effect to determine whether or not a hate crime has occurred. Among the specific issues to be considered are:

a. Preservation/collection of evidence substantiating that a hate crime has occurred.

(1) Photographs of injuries, graffiti, vandalism, etc.

(2) Collection of physical evidence such as:

(a) Hate/bias literature.

(b) Tape recordings (e.g., threat messages left on answering machines).

b. Interviews of victims and other involved parties.

(1) Treat the victim(s) with dignity and respect.

(2) Recognize that victim(s) may direct their anger or frustration at responding officers.

(3) Permit the victim(s) to vent their emotions.

(4) Empathize.

(5) Maintain a non-critical, non-judgmental, attitude.

(6) The following types of questions may assist in establishing important elements:

(a) Why do you think you were attacked?

(b) Did you want to react? Fight or Flight?

(d) Have there been any prior incidents?

(e) Have you been involved in any recent public activity that would make you a target?

(f) Has there been any neighborhood problem(s) that you think could have spurred this incident?

(g) Did the perpetrators distribute or carry any literature?

(h) What is your perception of what happened?

c. Interviews of witnesses.

(1) A door-to-door or other area search for witnesses should be initiated.

(2) Ask witnesses why they think the incident occurred.

(3) Ask witnesses who they think is responsible for the incident and why (individuals and/or groups).

(4) Responding officers should be alert for any signs of bias shown by the witnesses.

d. Interviews of suspects.

(1) Many times hate crimes suspects are proud of their actions and will be anxious to talk.

(2) The following questions may be helpful in substantiating incident elements:

(a) Why did you pick this person?

(b) What was there about this person?

(d) Did you go looking for (type of victim)?

(e) Did he/she just happen to cross your path?

(f) Do you belong to any groups or organizations? (either general or specific).

e. Generate a complete report.

(1) Although not all inclusive, the following considerations may be helpful in establishing essential elements:

(a) Are the victim and suspect members of different groups (e.g., ethnic, racial, religious, etc.)?

(b) Was the incident motivated by hostility between/among groups or group members?

(d) Has there been any prior (recent) news coverage of events of a similar nature?

(e) What about the manner and means of attack (e.g., color of paint, correct spelling of words, symbols or signs used, etc?).

(f) Does the event correspond to any significant date (e.g., holidays such as Halloween, birthday of a group leader, etc.).

(g) Is there any ongoing campus/community problem that may have spurred the event?

(h) Could the act be retribution for some other

conflict?

XII Legal Aspects of Hate (Bias Related) Crimes

A. Defining a hate crime.

1. An operational definition of a hate crime is “Any act of intimidation, harassment, physical force, or threat of physical force directed against any person, family, or their property or advocate, motivated either in whole or in part by hostility to their real or perceived race, ethnic background, national origin, religious belief, sex, age, disability, or sexual orientation, with the intention of causing fear or intimidation, or to deter the free exercise or enjoyment of any rights or privileges secured by the constitution or the law ....”

2. The problem with hate/bias related crime definitions is that they often imply that such events independently constitute a crime. Because these definitions do not identify penalties, the described behaviors must be accompanied with:

3. The acts or attempted acts must be motivated all or in part by:

a. Race.

b. Color.

c. Religion.

d. Ancestry.

e. National Origin.

f. Gender.

g. Sexual Orientation.

h. Disability.

B. Indicators of hate crimes.

1. The following criteria should be considered in determining whether or not a hate crime has occurred:

a. The crime must involve a specific target.

(1) Individual (can be friends or support group).

(2) Residence.

(3) House of worship.

(4) Religious or ethnic organization.

(5) Business.

b. If graffiti is involved, it must be:

(1) Racial.

(2) Ethnic.

(3) Religious.

(4) Homophobic.

c. Bigotry, in whole, or in part, must be the central motive for the incident.

d. Assaults on persons appear to have been motivated by:

(1) Race.

(2) Color.

(3) Religion.

(4) Ancestry.

(5) National origin.

(6) Gender.

(7) Sexual orientation.

(8) Disability.

e. There is an absence of other motives and vandalism has occurred to a:

(1) House of worship.

(2) Ethnic organization.

(3) Religious organization.

(4) Gay or lesbian organization.

f. Obscene or threatening telephone calls were involved which contain:

(1) Racial slurs.

(2) Ethnic slurs.

(3) Religious slurs.

(4) Homophobic slurs.

g. The following inquiries may also assist in determining whether or not a crime was motivated by bias/hate:

(1) Is the motivation of the alleged offender known?

(2) Was the incident known to have been motivated by racial, religious, ethnic, or sexual orientation bias?

(3) Does the victim perceive the action of the offender to have been motivated by bias?

(4) Is there no other clear motivation for the incident?

(5) Were any racial, religious, ethnic, or sexual orientation bias remarks made by the offender?

(6) Were there any offensive symbols, words, or acts which are known to represent a hate group or other evidence of bias against the victim’s group?

(7) Did the incident occur on a holiday or other day of significance to the victim’s group or the offender’s group?

(8) What do the demographics of the area reveal about the incident?

C. Legal rights of hate crimes victims.

1. Federal Criminal Statutes.

a. 18 USC Section 241 (Conspiracy to interfere with civil rights).

b. 18 USC Section 242 (Forcible interference with civil rights under color of authority).

c. 18 USC 245 (Forcible interference with civil rights).

d. 42 USC Section 3631 (Willful interference with civil rights under the Fair Housing Act).

2. Federal civil statutes which provide causes for action for victims of racially motivated violence by private individuals.

a. 42 USC Sections 1981 and 1982.

b. 42 USC Section 1985(3).

c. 42 USC Section 3617.

3. State statutes.

a. New York State Penal Law §485.05 Hate crimes.

b. A person commits a hate crime when he or she commits a specified offense and either:

(1) intentionally selects the person against whom the offense is committed or intended to be committed in whole or in substantial part because of a belief or perception regarding the race, color, national origin, ancestry, gender, religion, religious practice, age, disability or sexual orientation of a person, regardless of whether the belief or perception is correct, or

(2) intentionally commits the act or acts constituting the offense in whole or in substantial part because of a belief or perception regarding the race, color, national origin, ancestry, gender, religion, religious practice, age, disability or sexual orientation of a person, regardless of whether the belief or perception is correct.

(3) Proof of race, color, national origin, ancestry, gender, religion, religious practice, age, disability or sexual orientation of the defendant, the victim or of both the defendant and the victim does not, by itself, constitute legally sufficient evidence satisfying the people’s burden under paragraph (a) or (b) of subdivision one of this section.

(5) the term “age” means sixty years old or more;

(6) the term “disability” means a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a major life activity.

c. § 240.30 Aggravated harassment in the second degree (Class A Misdemeanor).

d. A person is guilty of aggravated harassment in the second degree when, with intent to harass, annoy, threaten or alarm another person, he or she:

(1) Communicates, or causes a communication to be initiated by mechanical or electronic means or otherwise, with a person, anonymously or otherwise, by telephone, or by telegraph, mail or any other form of written communication, in a manner likely to cause annoyance or alarm.

(2) Makes a telephone call, whether or not a conversation ensues, with no purpose of legitimate communication.

(3) Strikes, shoves, kicks, or otherwise subjects another person to physical contact, or attempts or threatens to do the same because of the race, color, religion or national origin of such person.

(4) Commits the crime of harassment in the first degree and has previously been convicted of the crime of harassment in the first degree as defined by §240.25 of this article within the preceding ten years.

4. §240.31 Aggravated harassment in the first degree (Class E Felony).

a. A person is guilty of aggravated harassment in the first degree when with intent to harass, annoy, threaten or alarm another person, because of the race, color, religion or national origin of such person he:

(1) Damages premises primarily used for religious purposes, or acquired pursuant to section six of the religious corporation law and maintained for purposes of religious instruction, and the damage to the premises exceeds fifty dollars.

(2) Commits the crime of aggravated harassment

NYS Division of Criminal Justice Services, Office of Public Safety: Copyright 2018 (December 2018) Basic Course for Police Officers 5-D.32 in the second degree in the manner proscribed by the provisions of subdivision three of §240.30 of this article and has been previously convicted of the crime of aggravated harassment in the second degree for the commission of conduct proscribed by the provisions of subdivision three of §240.30 or he has been previously convicted of the crime of aggravated harassment in the first degree within the preceding ten years.

b. §240.21 Disruption, or disturbance of religious service (Class A Misdemeanor).

(1) A person is guilty of aggravated disorderly conduct, who makes unreasonable noise or disturbance while at a lawfully assembled religious service or within one hundred feet thereof, with intent to cause annoyance or alarm or recklessly creating a risk thereof.